Unlikely Love
by wishingbelle
Summary: Rin leads a boring life...until she starts to get involved with her friend Tomoya Okazaki, and new girl Nagisa Furukawa. While meeting plenty of new people, she also has to keep her burning love for Youhei Sunohara a secret. But how long can her charade go? Youhei SunoharaXOC Read and review for cookies! :D WILL UPDATE SOON SORRY FOR THE WAIT!
1. Chapter 1

_I have to get to school on time. I have to. I have to!_

I charge down the pathway, faster than I've ever run before. The cherry blossom tree petals fall down, making the whole scenery a vivid pink.

_Faster, faster!_

Wait! Someone's in front of me! "Whoa!" I slam into them and knock them over, and fall over myself.

"Uwaagh!" I gasp, rubbing my head. "I'm so sorr-Sunohara-kun?!" I could feel my face heating up.

"Geez, watch where you're going, Rin-chan!" He groans rubbing his head as well. He has a cherry blossom petal on his head, and I giggle to myself.

"I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" I crawl over to him and pluck the petal off of his head. He doesn't seem to notice.

He laughs and stands up. "I'm fine. Where are you going in such a hurry?" He offers his hand down to me.

I blush harder and look away, hoping he couldn't see. "I-I can't be late again…Ryou-chan warned me I might get in trouble if I was late again."

"Pffft, that isn't anything to worry about." He winked. "Wanna skip with me?"

_Yes! Yes!_ I wanted to say. But I had to pretend I didn't have a crush on him. My crush on Sunohara had to stay a secret. So I laugh. "You're such a trouble-maker. Not today. Maybe another time." I say and smile.

"Aww, I'd love your company!" Those words made my heart skip a beat but I knew he flirted with every girl, so I wasn't an exception. I waved goodbye and raced up to my class, where Ryou-chan waited.

"Rin-chan! You made it!" She lets out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, sorry for worrying you!" I pant.

"Oh, your face is all red! Are you okay? Did you…see Sunohara-san?" Ryou teases. She and Okazaki are the only other people who knew about my silly crush.

"I-I mean I just ran all the way here and…yes, I did…" I hid my face. Ryou giggles and walks over to where Okazaki is. He probably was skipping school too much again. I laugh and sit down in my seat as Kyou runs into classrom and over to Okazaki, bent on the idea he was bullying Ryou.

Okazaki seems to tell something to Kyou that must have made her happy, because she skips out of the classroom with a grin on her face. At the same time, Sunohara walks in. I guess he decided not to skip...? This makes my heart pound, and I keep sneaking glances at him.

-Spacer-

At lunch time, I look for Sunohara. I-I'm not a stalker or anything! I just…like to be around him…That's not stalking is it?

I see Okazaki sitting next to a girl with brown hair, whom I've never seen before.

"Okazaki-kun!" I call over to him.

"Oh, hi, Rin. What's up?"

"Who's this?" I ask, smiling at the girl. She smiles shyly back.

"This is Nagisa Furukawa." He answers.

"Nice to meet you, Nagisa-chan!" I grin. "Let's be good friends!" I turn back to Okazaki. "Have you seen Sunohara?"

Okazaki's about to reply to my question when there's a sudden loud rumbling sound. I jump, startled.

"What's that sound?!" Okazaki asks. A bunch of students are running to where the baseball field is. Okazaki, the girl Nagisa, and I run after them.

In the middle of the field, two men on dirt bikes are wheeling around each other. I spot Sunohara, cheering them on.

"Sunohara-kun! What's going on?" I rush over to him, ignoring the pounding in my heart.

"I think they're here for a fight." He replies. My eyes widen and I instinctively cling to him. He notices me and smirks. "Don't worry, Rin-chan. I'll protect you~" I squeal and jump away from him blushing bright red. However, his attention is turned to Okazaki, who asks him what I just did. "Guys from another school are here on bikes. Hey, what are you doing on my head?!"

I look at Sunohara and see Okazaki's sitting on top of him. I giggle and glance back at the field. There's a girl with gray-brown hair walking calmly towards the men on bikes. What's she doing?! She could get killed!

Okazaki walks forward and takes off his jacket.

"You're going to help?" Sunohara asks and I sit down on the bench next to him, trying to be inconspicuous.

"I can't just sit and watch," Okazaki replies.

"You don't have to worry about Tomoyo-san!" A girl standing in front of us grins. I look around a realize there's a whole crowd of students watching the two bikers.

"Tomoyo?" Okazaki asks.

"You don't know her?" The same girl replies. "She just transferred in as a junior this spring. Tomoyo Sakagami-san!"

Another girl steps into the conversation. "She's really strong. If you go out, you might just get in her way."

"But…" Tomoya stammers and looks back out to the field, where the girl seems to be talking to the men on bikes. She doesn't seem to be afraid at all.

The men drive straight towards her and I stand up, about to run out to her, when Sunohara grabs my arm. "Wait! Don't go out!" For a second it seems like he could be worried about me but he's looking straight past me at the fields, and he probably doesn't want me to interrupt. I bite my lip and sit back down.

Suddenly the girl jumps into the air, and kicks both men off their bikes. I gasp in shock. Is that some kind of magical kung-fu?! I almost want to slap myself for thinking that. The entire crowd of students cheers loudly, and the Tomoyo girl walks back as calmly as before, without a single scratch on her.

"What is she?" I hear Sunohara mutter beside me. I don't even know how to answer.

OoOoOoOoOo

I'm about to head back to class, when I see a bunch of students crowding around someone.

"Sunohara-kun!" I run to him. He's laying down in the middle of the hallway, bruised, with Okazaki leaning over him.

"Okazaki-kun, what happened?" I gasp. He sighs, slightly annoyed.

"He tried to pick a fight with that Tomoyo girl from earlier. She beat him up." I sigh and kneel down next to Sunohara. "He can be such an idiot..."

"Sunohara-kun…do you need to go to the nurses office?" I ask, facing him, inspecting his face. He looks like he got bruised pretty bad. I'm about to go into a panic, seeming him beat up like this. But I can't blame Tomoyo. He has the kind of aura that makes you want to beat him up.

"I'm fine. A guy like me can handle this." He tries to stand up, but his legs give out.

"Sunohara-kun!" I stand up and support him. "Lean on me." I order. This time he doesn't make an excuse, and I put his arm over my shoulders.

"You seem pretty worried about me…" He raises an eyebrow. I blush.

"I-I mean, I'd be worried about a-anyone who got beat u-up!" I stammer and look away. He seems to buy it.

"I'll take you back to class." I say. He doesn't complain, and I glance over at Okazaki who raises his eyebrows and grins. I blush and look away. He knew about my crush almost before I did.

"What were you doing, picking a fight with that girl!?" I demand. He shrugs.

"There's no way a girl can beat up guys like that. It's got to be some kind of set-up." Sunohara mutters.

I huff. "What's that supposed to mean? Girls aren't strong?" I glare at him.

"N-no I mean…girls can't be _that _strong…" He trails off, and I push him off me.

"That's sexist." I storm off, but in reality I wanted nothing more than to stay with him.

"Wait! Rin-chan!" Sunohara calls. I feel bad for leaving him, but I couldn't just stand there while he insulted girls…I wanted to go back and pick him up again…but I can't have any suspicions raised on my feelings. So I stomp back to class.

-Spacer-

That night, I end up walking Sunohara back to his apartment. I live right around the corner, so it wouldn't put any strain on me. Even if it did, I probably would've walked him back anyways.

"…Thanks, Rin-chan…" He looks away. I glance at him and my eyes widen. I don't think I've ever heard of him thank anyone!

"I-it was no problem! I-I live right around the corner and I felt bad about leaving you earlier…" I trail off. I'm blushing hard again.

"I mean, I obviously could've made it here without your help." He glances at me and I raise an eyebrow. "B-but thanks anyways..."

We finally arrive at his apartment. "Will you be okay tomorrow morning?" I ask and shuffle my feet. I don't want to leave him. I want to stay forever...what the heck am I thinking?!

"I'll be fine. I can handle it." He winks and waves. I sigh and smile and wave back.

"Stay safe, Sunohara-kun..." I whisper, but I don't think he hears me. I wait for him to be completely in the building, then turn around and start walking back home.

-Spacer-

I wake up early the next morning, determined to make it to school on time. On my way there, I see Kyou speeding to school on a bike. It's forbidden to go to school on a bike, and I giggle. Hopefully she won't get caught. I run after her, and see her plow straight into Okazaki. I burst out laughing as she speeds away.

"Kyou Fujibayashi, huh? There are a lot of savage girls at our school, don't you think?" Sunohara says to Okazaki, and my heart skips a beat.

"Sunohara. It's rare to see you at such a normal hour." Okazaki replies.

"I agree." I giggle and walk up to them. "Now then, Sunohara-kun, what were you saying about girls being savage?"

"Ah! Rin-chan! Good morning...I, uh..." He stammers, and I blush. He's cute when he's embarassed.

"It's okay. The girls here are pretty savage." I laugh. "Seriously though, why are you here so early?"

"I like paying back debts quickly." Sunohara replies with a smirk. "To that other savage girl."

"Savage girl...? Wait, you don't mean Tomoyo, do you?!" I gasp. He nods. "Sunohara-kun! You can't! You'll get beat up again!"

He gasps dramatically. "Rin-chan! You have that little faith in me? I was only...caught off guard that time. There's no way I'll lose now."

I bite my lip and stare at him. "Sunohara-kun...At least let me come with you, so I can take you to the nurses office."

Sunohara rolls his eyes. "Fine. Not like you're going to need to."

-Spacer-

Tomoyo stares at the three of us with blank eyes. "You are so persistent." She mutters to Sunohara.

"I was out of shape last time, but not today! When there's too much time between taking the mound, even the best pitcher...can get knocked out!" Sunohara shouts at her. Now it's my turn to roll my eyes.

She lets out an exasperated sigh. "Take my advice and stop. Or do you mind not being able to come to school?"

Sunohara gets into a fighting position. "I wonder which one of us will not be able to come to school?" He asks.

"You're hopeless..." Tomoyo sighs. She looks over at me and Okazaki. "Will you be my witnesses? That this is for self-defense."

"Yeah. Since it really is." Okazaki replies. I shuffle my feet. I don't want to betray Sunohara, but she is right.

"O-okay..." I reply.

"All right." She says, then turns back to face Sunohara. "So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to make you unable to stand for a while?"

My eyes widen.

"You can't possibly do that!" He yells. "Quit blabbering and bring it on!" He charges towards Tomoyo, and she quickly bends down and gives him several karate-like kicks to the stomach.

"Acquaintance! The dust chute!" She yells to Okazaki. Before I can do anything, Okazaki runs to the dust chute and opens it, and Tomoyo kicks him into it.

"Sunohara-kun!" I yell and run to him. I try to pull him out, by my pitiful strength can't do anything. "Okazaki-kun! Tomoyo-san! Help!" I shout and panic.

Tomoyo walks over and I step back, letting out a sigh of relief.

"You'll fall if I release your fingers. What do you want me to do? Do you want to fall? So you do." Tomoyo mutters. I bite my lip.

"P-please don't hurt him!" I whimper. But she doesn't hear me.

"I didn't answer!" Sunohara shouts. She lifts up his fingers, and he goes falling down the dust chute. I gasp.

"Sunohara-kuuuun!" I yell, and without another word I dash down the stairs and race to the side of the building. "Sunohara-kun! Sunohara-kun!" I look everywhere, but I can't find him. "SUNOHARA-KUUUUNN!"

I finally see him, doubled over down by the far side of the school.

"Sunohara-kun!" I shout in relief and run over to him. "You idiot! I told you she'd just beat you up! Are you okay?!"

He groans in pain. "That was a change in personality...Yeah, I'm fine." He stands up, but once again, fails and his legs go out under him.

"You idiot!" I mutter, and sling him over my shoulder again. "Come on, let's go the nurses office..."

"Hey! Sunohara, you alive?!" Okazaki shouts down the chute.

"SCREW YOU! THIS ISN'T THE END!" Sunohara shouts back. I glare at him.

"This better be the end, you idiot!"

He rolls his eyes. "How many times are you going to call me an idiot?"

"Until you stop being one." I huff, and drag him to the nurses office.

**Aaaand that wraps up the first chapter! Please review so I can tell whether I should continue or not! Review for cookies! :D Thanks so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for reading! **

**I would like to personally thank AlwaysTheTruth for the follow, favorite, and review! *happy cries* It means so much to me! I definitely do plan to diverge it at some point! *hands you cookies***

**I would also like to thank xxxCherry-Lotusxxx for the review! *hands thin mint cookies* Thanks so much! As for the –spacer- I put it there to show the change between scenes, but I changed it. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you have any ideas or advice, I'd be so happy to hear it!**

_I am not a stalker. I am not a stalker. I am not!_

I repeat this to myself over and over again as I follow Sunohara through the halls of our school. I had only just found him now, and I was trying to bring myself to talk to him, but every time I was about to open my mouth, I got too scared. So here I was, following him, like some kind of, well, stalker.

"Rin? What are you doing?" Okazaki waves at me, as I was trying to find some place to hide.

"M-me? I-I was, I was…um…" I stammer and try to think of an excuse. But both Sunohara and Okazaki are no longer paying any attention to me. They're looking at something on a bulletin board. I walk behind them and try to see what it is.

"Okazaki, you're involved in something like this?" Sunohara is asking Okazaki. I peer at the bulletin board and notice a sign that says "Join the Theater Club!" surrounded by drawings of the Dango Family, from a few years ago. The Theater Club? I've always wanted to join it, but due to its closing down, I never got to join.

"They're re-opening the Theater Club?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Nagisa's trying to get it open again." Okazaki replies, and my eyes widen. This could be my chance! He turns to look at Sunohara. "What have you been doing up till now?"

Sunohara smirks and sticks out his chest. "Training to beat Tomoyo Sakagami!"

I glare at him. "Sunohara-kun…you better be joking!"

He stares at me and cowers a bit. I cross my arms and stare right back. He turns away to look at Okazaki. "S-so the Theater Club, huh? I'm surprised to see in you interested in a damn thing like a club. You've always hated those club activities so much it made you want to puke." Okazaki's fists tighten, and my eyes widen. Sunohara's making him upset. I'm about to step in and say something when Sunohara cuts me off. "Well, you have to give me the details in the future. Later!" He waves.

"Ah, I-I better get going too!" I wave to Okazaki, then turn to look at him. "Are you okay?" He nods, and a girl steps out of the shadows.

"Okazaki-san…you don't like club activites?" It's Nagisa, the girl from before.

"It was a meaningless conversation…" He trails off.

I turn to Nagisa. "You're trying to open the Theater Club again?" I exclaim and grab her hands excitedly.

She seems a bit startled. "Y-yes…"

I let go of her hands and smile. "I've always wanted to join Theater! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, okay?"

Her eyes widen. "R-really? That's great! Actually, I have a few ideas…"

OOoOOoooOooOo

Nagisa had told me about her plan to make dango the mascot of the new Theater Club, and Okazaki gave me some of the supplies he was using to make them.

For the rest of the night, I make tons of dango for Nagisa, when I get an idea. Should I make a dango for Sunohara? I push the idea aside, though. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing he would like…

I end up making one for him anyways, carefully setting it down on my desk, and crash for the rest of the night.

The next morning, it's pouring rain. I pack the dango I had made for Sunohara carefully into my bag. I meet up with Nagisa, and we talk about what we're going to do for the Theater Club, and I hand her the dangos I had made.

"Oh my gosh, these are so cute! Thank you so much, Rin-chan!" Nagisa smiles.

I laugh and smile back. "If you're going to thank anyone, thank Okazaki-kun. He had the idea, and he gave me the supplies to make them. Speaking of Okazaki-kun, it doesn't look like he came to school today…" I look around. I haven't seen him, or Sunohara at all today. I guess they both decided to skip…Nagisa looks upset by this, however.

"Nagisa-chan? Is something wrong?" I frown.

She glances at me, smiles, and shakes her head. "No, everything's okay! I'm sorry for worrying you. Oh yeah, I made some new signs for the Club!" I noticed she changed the subject, but I decide not to push it any further. She would have told me if she wanted to talk about it.

OoOoOoOooOo

I walk home in the rain, the dango I had made for Sunohara still in my bag. He didn't come to school after all. I'm contemplating whether I should stop by his apartment or not, when I see Okazaki running towards the school.

"Okazaki-kun! Where are you going in such a hurry? Did Sunohara-kun stay home today?" I ask, but he doesn't even seem to hear me, as he runs toward the school. I make up my mind. I'm going to go to Sunohara's apartment and give him the dango I made.

…Of course, my resolve wavers as I stand in front of his door, about to knock, fist hovering above the door, when it opens, and a yawning Sunohara bumps into me.

"Eep!" I blush hard and stumble backwards.

"Rin-chan?" He yawns again. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I, I…." I stammer. He tilts his head, and I catch a glance of his room. It's a bit messy, which is pretty stereotypical. I want to get a better look, but Sunohara's standing in front of me, waiting. I reach into my bag and pull out the dango I made.

"H-here!" I put it into his hands. "I-I made these the Theater Club thing…" I stammer. Before he can reply, I dash down the stairs.

"Join the Theater Club!" I call back, my face blushing bright red. Oh geez, he probably thinks I'm a complete idiot now…

OOoOoOoOoOo

At school, I avoid Sunohara completely. I'm way too embarrassed to face him. So during lunch, I sit with Okazaki and Nagisa.

"Nagisa-chan, are you okay? I heard you got sick over the weekend…" I glance at her.

She smiles. "I'm fine! Okazaki-san and my parents took care of me!"

I glance over at Okazaki, who looks away, and I smirk to myself. He turns to look back at me.

"Rin-chan, you missed Sunohara get beat up again this morning." Okazaki laughs.

I sigh and roll my eyes. "I swear, he's going to get himself killed…Is he okay?"

"Oh, he's fine. I don't think he's ever going to give up."

I'm about to reply, when suddenly a girl appears, poking Okazaki.

"What are you doing?" He asks, slightly annoyed.

"Looking for the knife!" The girl replies.

"Knife? Oh." Okazaki pulls something out of his pocket. It must be the knife the girl was talking about. "This?"

"Please give it back." The girl says.

"How's your hand?" Okazaki replies.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." She says, showing him her bandaged hand. "It's healed."

"Shake." Okazaki demands. He extends his hand towards her, and shakes her hand. She winces in pain.

"It hurts, right?"

"No, it doesn't!"

"It looks like you're in great pain…" Nagisa murmurs beside me. I grab the girl's hand.

"What happened?" I ask. She pulls her hand away and glances at me.

"N-nothing happened! I just need my knife back!" She replies. I poke her hand, and she flinches.

"Give me five!" Okazaki says. The girl dribbles an air basketball, cheers, and high-fives Okazaki. She instantly falls to her knees and cries.

"It hurts, right?"

"It doesn't hurt!" The girl wails.

I kneel beside her. "It's okay if you're hurt…but it looks like you might need to bandage that better." I motion to her hand. "My name's Rin, by the way. What's yours?"

"I-I'm Fuko! Fuko Ibuki!" She stammers. "I-It really doesn't hurt!"

Okazaki steps towards us. "Then we'll do box and trainer. You're the trainer, okay? You position your hands like this…" He moves her hands so they're in front of her. "And I'll punch your hands." Fuko gapes at him, and Nagisa steps towards us.

"O-Okazaki-san…" She trails off.

"You say 'One, Two! One, Two!' Ready?" He grins.

"Y-Yes!" Fuko whimpers.

"Jab! Jab! Straight!" He calls.

"One, Two! One, Two! One, Two! One, Two! One, Two!" Fuko wails, and Okazaki gently punches her hand and hands her the knife back.

"One, Two, One, Two! One-" She's cut off by Okazaki. I don't she realized he gave her the knife back yet.

"How long are you going to say that for?" Okazaki laughs. Suddenly the bell rings.

"There's the chime. Let's go." He turns to me and Nagisa.

"This is for you!" Fuko says, shoving something into Okazaki's hands and running off.

"Wha? Hey!" He calls after her. She's already gone. I turn to look at it. It looks like a wooden starfish.

"It's a star, right?" I hear Okazaki mutter.

OOoOOoOOoOoo

I try to avoid Sunohara for the rest of the day, but it doesn't look like I can anymore after I see him lying face down on the concrete. I kneel down beside him and sigh.

"I thought I told you to stop messing around with Tomoyo."

He looks up. "It wasn't her this time! It was Kyou, and her pet baby-boar-thing!" He wails. I raise an eyebrow and laugh.

"You just keep getting beat up everywhere you go, huh?" I smile. "You're helpless."

Sunohara gives me a dramatic hurt look. "S-so cold, Rin-chan!"

I roll my eyes. "I'm just going to leave you alone to be beat up by the girls in this school." I stand up.

"Wait, Rin-chan!" I turn around.

"Thanks for the dango…Although it's kinda weird…"

I blush hard, wave goodbye, and dash off before I say anything to make the situation worse.

oOoOoOoOo

"Oh my god, you're an idiot!"

"So I've been told." Sunohara mutters, crossing his arms. I came to school this morning to find him with bandaged all over his face. I sigh, smirk, and poke his forehead, where one of the bandages are.

"Hey! What was that for?" He groans.

"Your punishment for being a helpless idiot." I huff.

"You're getting to be so mean, Rin-chan…" Sunohara whimpers.

"Oh! I found the weird person!" A familiar person shouts.

"I'm not weird, so it must not be me." Okazaki mutters. I snort, and he turns to look at me, and I look away.

"Please wait, weird person!" Fuko appears, grabbing Okazaki's jacket.

"It is me, eh?" He replies.

"Naturally. You're so weird you could be your own species." Fuko says. I laugh. "One so rare that you may or may not meet one every ten years. I'm sure that's not an overstatement. Yes! I'm sure it isn't an overstatement!"

"You got that right, Fuko-chan!" I smile. Her eyes widen when she sees me.

"Why are you hanging out with this weird person?" She asks.

I shrug. "Got nothing better to do than to hang out with these idiots." I punch Sunohara on the shoulder, and he flinches.

"That actually hurt?" My eyes widen, and he turns away.

"O-Of course not!" He retorts. I roll my eyes and smile.

"I'm Tomoya Okazaki from 3-D." Okazaki introduces himself to Fuko.

"Who is this kid?" Sunohara mutters, bending down to her. "Someone you know?

"There are double the weird people here!" Fuko jumps back. I laugh and wrap an arm around her.

"Don't worry, Fuko-chan! I'll protect you from these weirdos!"

"What's weird about me?!" Sunohara demands, and Fuko cowers back.

"Sunohara, quit scaring her with your weirdness!" I laugh and blush. My heart's racing. I'm teasing him! I can tease him without completely freezing up! I almost want to run away and squeal like an idiot, I'm so happy.

"Your hair color is so unnatural!" Fuko wails and points to his blonde hair.

"She's really rude to someone she just met for the first time." Sunohara says. Fuko pushes herself away from me and grabs Okazaki's jacket again.

"I only want to talk to the weird person! I want to talk to you alone, so come with me!" Fuko says to Okazaki, but despite that, Sunohara follows her, and I instinctively follow Sunohara.

"Ack! There are double the weird people here!" Fuko gasps once we turn to her. "I said I wanted to talk to the weird person!"

"You called us both weird." Sunohara and Okazaki say in unison.

"You have a weird hair color!" Fuko says, pointing to Sunohara. "You're the one whose existence is weird!" She points to Okazaki. I snort again.

"Are you picking a fight?" Sunohara glares at her.

"I'm the one whose existence is weird…at least you're only partly weird!" Okazaki mutters.

"What about Rin-chan? Isn't she weird?!" Sunohara motions to me, and I blush.

"Hmm…she's only weird because she hangs out with you." Fuko replies, and I smile.

OOoOoOoOo

"I'm actually pretty busy, you know." Tomoyo says exasperatedly.

Sunohara has, once again, dragged me and Tomoya with him on his little fight. I was so upset when I heard he was going to pick another fight with her, I almost didn't come. But of course, the worrying side of me took over and I decided to come to make sure he's okay.

"I don't have time to tag along for things like this, either." Okazaki sighs, looking at him. Sunohara glances at me and smirks his famous, adorable, trademark smirk. Did I just say adorable?! I frown and look away, staring out the window.

"This time around, I'm a little different from other times." Sunohara grins.

"You always say something similar." Tomoyo mutters.

"I'm really different this time!" Sunohara yells, charges towards her, and Tomoyo kicks him into the wall. I groan inwardly. He's such an idiot. I don't even bother going to check on him this time, even though inside I'm screaming I should.

"You've got a pretty good kick. After a fight, we need to make up." He puts an arm around her, which makes me jealous. I glare at the window.

The next second, Sunohara's kicked out of the window, an angry Tomoyo fuming from the boy's bathroom. He lands in a tree, and then falls out.

"Oh my god! Sunohara-kun! You idiot!" I wail, racing down the stairs and outside once more, kneeling down beside him and flick his forehead.

"Dammit! You idiot! How the hell are you alive!?" I shout.

"Owww…I don't think I've ever heard you swear before…" He turns to glance at me. I look away and blush. I swear when I'm upset, or angry. I'm a little bit of both now. I'm also about to have a panic attack.

"Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god….You're bleeding like crazy!" I wail.

"Why are you freaking out so much?" He groans, and rubs his head.

"I-I, I just d-don't like seeing blood…" I lie. Well, it isn't a complete lie. I don't like seeing Sunohara bleeding…

"I swear, you are the stupidest person I've ever met!" I shout at him, and he flinches. "…Sorry. Here, I'm talking you the nurses office. No complaints." I order, draping his arm over my shoulder once more, and support him.

"How many times have we done this in the past week?" I mutter. "This better be the last time!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Rin: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**

**Sunohara: Why do I keep getting beat up? I'm obviously much stronger than that!**

**Rin: Oh, be quiet! I've had to carry you to the nurses office how many times now!?**

**Sunohara: You know, you didn't have to do any of that.**

**Rin: *blushes* I-It wasn't anything, really! *laughs nervously***

**Anyways, thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review! It would mean so much and it inspires me to keep writing! Review for a starfish sculpture from Fuko! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! :D**

**Thank you AlwaysTheTruth for your wonderful review! *hands you Fuko starfish sculpture* And thanks so much! I can't believe I forgot about Fuko's adorable way of speaking! I'll remember that in the future! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

**Thank you, xxxCherry-Lotusxxx for the follow, favorite, and review! *hands you Fuko starfish sculpture* Now you have two sculptures? XD Thanks so much! It means so much to hear you say that! **

**And thank you, mypetluke, for the follow, favorite, and review! *hands you Fuko starfish sculpture* I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I hope you like the newest chapter!**

**I love you guys! Please enjoy!**

My heart pounds like crazy for the rest of the day. I can't believe I was there that long with Sunohara, and I didn't pass out, or say anything too stupid. I'm hardly paying any attention at all when I'm eating lunch with Nagisa and Okazaki, who are talking about how the student council got upset with us hanging up posters, and he walks in.

"S-Sunohara-kun?!" I gasp and look up as he pulls up a chair and sits down next to us.

"I wanna help gather members for the Theater Club." He says. My heart races even more. He's sitting right~next~to~me!

"You'll help gather members?" Nagisa says, her eyes widening.

"Yeah. I'm getting tired of the bread from the cafeteria." Sunohara replies. Both Nagisa and I tilt our heads in confusion.

"Bread?" She asks.

"It's something between us." Sunohara replies, motioning to Okazaki and I stare at him and sigh. "Anyway, I heard the student council is keeping you from gathering members, right? Then the answer is simple."

"Is there a good solution?" Nagisa asks. I glance at Sunohara. This ought to be interesting.

"Call the student council president out to the back of the school building, and we jump on him all at once!" He replies, and even makes punching motions.

I punch his head. "You idiot!"

"We can't do that!" Nagisa wails. "The people in the student council haven't done anything wrong!"

He rubs his head where I punched him. "Owww…you're so violent!" He mutters to me.

"Says the guy who says we should jump the student council president!" I can't help but laugh. Sunohara turns back to Nagisa.

"It's the easiest way." Sunohara replies.

"Anyway, we can't resort to violence." She says.

"So we're going to talk it out? Not my forte." He says.

I snort and pokes the bandages on his head. "Is anything your forte? You can't fight that well, either." I tease. My hearts pounding a mile a minute, and I'm trying to keep myself from blushing. Teasing won't make him suspect anything, right?

"What a big gap in virtue." Okazaki mutters to him.

"Hey! I…I just keep getting caught off guard is all!" Sunohara replies to me and I giggle. I'm blushing hard now, and I force myself to look away.

"But I'm happy for your consideration. Please lend us your strength!" Nagisa smiles.

"Okay, leave it to me! I don't think we can get much if plan by ourselves. How about we ask others?" Sunohara says.

"You have a point there." Nagisa murmurs…

"Do you have any idea who we should go ask?" Okazaki asks.

"Of course! I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't!" Sunohara leans back in his chair with his trademark smirk.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

And the four of us stand behind trees, watching Kyou, Ryou, and their pet baby boar Botan.

"I just heard them say our names." Okazaki mutters.

"I figured the class rep would know the school rules well, but her sis is with her, eh?"

"You go and only get the younger one. Tell her that there's someone who wants to ask her out. Then the older one should be considerate and step away." Okazaki whispers to Sunohara, and I fidget slightly, hearing the words 'ask her out' and being around Sunohara only making me more nervous.

"Gotcha," Sunohara replies. "Nice idea."

"What were you two talking about?" Nagisa asks, who probably didn't hear them.

"You think of things you need to ask." Okazaki replies.

Suddenly I see Kyou and Ryou both shoot up, with surprised expressions. Sunohara must have told them what Okazaki told him to.

Oh, brother….

OoOoOoOo

Sunohara and I stand back while Okazaki and Nagisa go up to talk to Ryou.

"She's the one that needs to talk to you." Okazaki tells Ryou, and pushes Nagisa forward.

"I'm Nagisa Furukawa from class 3-B. I'm sorry I called you out all of a sudden."

"Y-Yes. I'm Ryou Fujibayashi from class D."

"You're the class representative, right?"

"Y-Yes…"

"That's amazing. I would never be able to do that, so I admire you."

"I-It's really nothing."

"I need to ask you something! Will you listen to me?"

"Y-Yes!"

"She's serious about it." Okazaki adds. "So answer her back seriously, too."

"Please hold on. Um…I didn't think it would be a girl, so…" Ryou murmurs, and for a minute I'm confused. Why would it matter if it's a girl or a boy trying to get the Theater Club back together. But then I get it. Sunohara told her that someone was going to ask her out, and she thinks he was talking about Nagisa! I cover my mouth in shock while Sunohara cracks up beside me.

"Why does gender matter? I think what matters is the passion." Sunohara says, and I hit him in the back of the head.

"What are you saying, you idiot?!" I whisper.

"What are you talking about?" He says oh-so-innocently.

"You say something good once in a blue moon." Okazaki says to Sunohara, as I glare at him.

"Since deep down in my heart I am a good guy~" Sunohara smirks, and I melt a little inside. But I still hit him again anyway.

"You're an idiot," I say to him.

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "You tell me that every five minutes…"

I blush and look away.

"Is it strange to be asked by a girl?" Nagisa asks Ryou.

"N-Not at all. You're very cute. But, if it's with me, umm…How do I put this…" Ryou trails off.

"I've been thinking about this for a while. But I've decided to be serious!"

"So you were that troubled by it…"

"This is turning me on!" Sunohara says and I punch him harder than ever.

"Pervert!" I say under my breath.

"Owww! Rin-chan!" He huffs and I blush and look away again.

"I don't know what to do now." Nagisa says, grabbing Ryou's hands. "Please listen to me."

"O-Okay. I will listen to you seriously."

"Will you…Will you…" Nagisa trails off, and Ryou's blushing. And so is Sunohara.

"Sunohara-kun! What are you blushing about?" I growl, and raise my hand, about to punch him when he cowers.

"I'm sooooryyy Rin-chan! Forgive me~" He begs and I blush harder. He's an idiot…but so cute! What am I saying?!

I huff and turn away to hide my blushing face.

However, Okazaki punches him instead, and I kneel down beside him.

"Sunohara-kun!" I gasp.

"What the heck? You were just about to punch me!" He groans, rubbing the side of his face.

I blush even harder. "W-Well…I…I…" I trail off and stand up and run over to Okazaki. Sunohara and Okazaki are both now watching Ryou and Nagisa again.

"Will you please help me in establishing the theater club?" Nagisa asks.

"Yes…Eh?!" Ryou blushes.

Suddenly someone comes slamming through the door. A baby boar bounces through, followed by Kyou.

"Onee-chan!" Ryou gasps.

"Ah! Kyou!" Sunohara shouts.

"You…you sons of…" She grabs them both in headlocks. "How dare you fool around with my little sister?!"

"Eep! P-Please let Sunohara-kun go!" I plead.

"Wh-what about m-me?!" Okazaki coughs.

"And Okazaki-kun too!"

Kyou sighs and releases them both.

The two of them explain everything to Kyoy back in the Theater Clubs room.

"You should have said something sooner!" Kyou sighs exasperatedly.

"It was Sunohara's fault!" Okazaki says, and I giggle.

"It's your fault!" He shouts back, and I start laughing. "What are you laughing about?"

I blush hard. "N-Nothing, it's just…" _You're cute when you're angry, Sunohara-kun! _

I could never, ever, ever have the courage to say that though. "Be careful not to get in any more trouble, okay?" Sunohara stares at me as I say this, and my face blushes a darker red. That wasn't any better?! I go into a panic and turn to Nagisa, Kyou, and Ryou, who are talking about the Theater Club.

"I'm sorry. I'm bad at explaining things." Nagisa is apologizing to them.

"It's all right. It just made my heart skip a beat." Ryou replies.

"Hey, you two. Are these the only friends you have?" Kyou motions to Sunohara and Okazaki.

"Friends…" Nagisa murmurs. "Well, I'm having them help me reestablish the Theater Club."

"I bet there's some other motives hidden behind that." Kyou whispers. She turns to me. "What about you? These two idiots can't be the only friends you have."

"Me? W-well…" I turn to look at Sunohara, and I can feel my face heat up.

Kyou raises her eyebrows and smirks. "You like Sunohara-kun, don't you?" She whispers. My eyes widen and I glance back at him, but he's turned away, talking to Okazaki.

"Ehh?! Wh-what are you talking about?!" I laugh nervously. Ryou winks at me.

"Don't worry. My sister's a good secret-keeper!" She smiles.

Kyou laughs. "So you do! You know, you could probably do better than him."

I blush hard. "I…really like him…" I trail off. I have no clue what I'm saying at this point.

"Really, Rin-chan?" Nagisa smiles. "Good luck!"

"Th-thanks…" I blush even harder.

"Anyways, how about forgetting about them and hanging out with us?" Kyou grins.

"Um…" Nagisa stammers.

"You agree, don't you, Botan?" Kyou turns to her boar.

"Puhi~!" It squeals.

"I think I gotta stay and watch that idiot to make sure he doesn't go and get himself killed…" I whisper, blushing, and Kyou winks at me.

"Um, thank you for your thoughts, but I can't leave those who have gone out of their way to help me. Okazaki-san and Sunohara-san are both nice people." Nagisa replies.

Kyou goes over to Okazaki and whispers something to him that I don't catch.

"To restart a club that's inactive, first you need members. The school says you need at least three members and an advisor to start a club." Ryou tells us.

"Ah, right." Kyou sits back in her chair.

"Three!" Nagisa repeats determinedly.

"And she's prohibited from recruiting new members." Okazaki says.

"Yeah, yeah," Sunohara nods.

"If it's just the number, we have enough. In fact, we have more than enough." Kyou says.

"Huh? Where?" Okazaki says.

"Her, you, you, and you." She motions to me, Okazaki, and Sunohara.

"No, no," Okazaki and Sunohara say at the same time.

My heart drops a little when I hear Sunohara say that. I mean, I knew all along he wasn't going to join, but a little part of me was hoping he was going to.

"Huh?" Kyou asks.

"Nagisa and Rin are the ones who want to actually join the club. Sunohara and I are just helping out." Okazaki explains. Kyou raises her eyebrows.

"So that means you only have two members…You'll need one more…" Kyou murmurs to herself.

"Sunohara-kun, you're sure you don't wanna join or anything?" I ask him hopefully.

"Nah. Acting's definitely not my thing." He replies, and I can't help but be the slightest bit disappointed.

OoOoOoOoOo

That afternoon, I end up walking home with Sunohara, Okazaki, and Nagisa.

"Say, Rin-chan, I didn't know you were into acting…" Sunohara says.

I blush. "I-I am…I've never said anything about it though since the Club closed and I decided there wasn't really a point…"

"I wanna hear some of your acting~" He nudges me with his elbow, and I blush harder.

"N-no way! I-I can't!" I stammer.

"Why not? You have stage fright?" Sunohara asks.

"I-I…something like that, yes…" _It's called "Being Nervous Because I'm In Love With You"_! I think.

"Hm…well it'll be a problem if you join Theater and have stage fright. You'll have to get that figured out…" Sunohara says. Nagisa and Okazaki give me sympathetic looks, and I blush even harder. We reach Sunohara's apartment, and we say our goodbyes.

"Bye, Sunohara-kun!" I wave.

"See you, Rin-chan~!" He winks at me, and I feel my face heating up.

After that, I head to Nagisa's house so we can work on the Theater Club more.

"Oh, Nagisa-chan! Is this a new friend?" A woman who looks like she could be Nagisa's big sister walks in.

I bow. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rin Kimura." I say shyly. The woman's pretty, and she has a kind air about her.

"Nice to meet you, Rin-san! I'm Nagisa's mother, Sanae Furukawa. Call me Sanae!" She smiles. So this is Nagisa's mother? My eyes widen. "I heard you were helping Nagisa with the Theater Club."

"That's right! I've always wanted to join Theater Club, and when I heard Nagisa-chan was trying to reopen it, I got so excited! We're going to do our best!" I smile.

Sanae waves to the two of us as we head upstairs.

"We need one more member, right?" I said, taking a bite of some of the bread Sanae's mother gave us. It doesn't really taste that good, but I knew better than to say anything about it.

"Yes…I don't think Okazaki-san or Sunohara-san will be joining us…do you know anyone who might be interested in joining Theater?" Nagisa asks.

"Hmm…I can't really think of anyone…Ryou-chan and Kyou-san will be busy as the class representatives…" I trail off. I don't really know anyone else…I've always been too shy to talk to people. Okazaki and I have known each other for a while, so he introduced me to his friends, but that's it. "Don't worry, Nagisa-chan! I'm sure we'll think of something!"

oOoOoOoOo

I end up leaving later than I planned to from Nagisa's place, so I wake up late the next morning.

"Dang it, dang it, dang it! I can't be laaateeee!" I wail, running into the building.

_SLAM!_

"Oww…" I whimper, rubbing my head. I bumped into something…someone? Oh my god…

"Rin-chan, you really need to stop ramming into me all the time…" Sunohara groans.

"Oh my god! Sunohara-kun?! What the heck happened to your face?" I gasp. His face is completely bruised, worse than ever. He's mostly bandaged up, but I can still see bruises and blood. "You didn't…Sunohara-kun…" I glare. He flinches again, and I giggle.

"What's so funny?" He huffs, crossing his arms.

_You're just so cute._ "Nothing. Are you okay?!" I panic.

"You really worry too much. I just came back from the nurses, so you don't have to carry me there…again." He blushes, and I blush too, and look away.

"Can you walk alright?" I fuss.

"I'm fine. Really." He stands up and offers me his hand, and I blush and take it.

"Thank you. I'm so sorry about running into you." I blush even harder, and look away again.

"Ha, no problem. You just can't stay away from me, huh?" Sunohara teases. But in a way, he couldn't be more right. It seems like it's like that forever. The two of us standing there. I realize I'm still holding his hand and pull it away. The bell suddenly rings.

"I-I have to go…" I trail off. My face is blushing so hard, it would be impossible for him not to realize it. But if he does notice it, he doesn't say anything. "Are you coming to class?"

"Yeah. I'll walk with you." He smiles. Oh my god, Sunohara, stop it! You're going to make my heart explode…

"O-okay…" I blush and stare at the ground. The two of us walk together in silence to the class, but it isn't awkward at all. It feels so right, being by his side…I sound so cheesy, my god.

We walk into the classroom, and when Okazaki sees me walking with Sunohara, he wiggles his eyebrows, and I blush even harder and look away. I mean, it doesn't mean anything…Sunohara was probably just being polite, walking me to class like this. There isn't anything behind it.

…Is there?

OoOoOoOoO

**Rin: We're finished with the third chapter already?! Wow! Thank you all so very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Sunohara: Why do you always blush so much?**

**Rin: Wh-what are you talking about? I-It's just kind of hot in school, I guess…**

**Sunohara: I think it's kind of cold.**

**Rin: …Oh look! Flying bread!**

**Sunohara: Where?!**

**Thanks so, so much for reading! It means so much! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review! I'd love to hear your opinions and ideas! Review for some of Sanae's bread! What do you mean you don't want any!?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Today's the weekend, so I managed to finish the third chapter and write and complete the fourth chapter! Whoo! Hehe, the fluff level is starting to slowly raise. You probably noticed in the last chapter XD**

**Thank you so, so much xxxCherry-Lotusxxx for your review! I love getting them! Hehe, for your kind review, I shall NOT give you any of Sanae's bread. Have some more thin mint cookies instead XD *hands you thin mint cookies* I hope you enjoy this chapter! It is indeed flying bread!**

"Anyone?" I ask as I sit down next to Okazaki and Nagisa.

"No. I went around asking several people, but not a single one was interested. If you think about it, the club closed down since everyone that was interested in theater left. This might be harder than we were thinking." Okazaki says.

"Seniors have entrance exams to worry about. Freshmen and juniors may be interested, but…"

"We can't give up, though! I'm sure there's at least one other person who's interested!" I exclaim. Nagisa's eyes widen and she nods.

"Freshman, eh…" Okazaki trails off.

"Do you have someone in mind?" I ask.

"…Yeah. Do you remember Fuko Ibuki? That weird girl?" He says.

I giggle. "The one who says your existence is weird?" I ask. He rolls his eyes and nods.

"She might be interested in joining." Okazaki says. Nagisa and I exchange glances, then the three of us head to the classroom Okazaki said she was.

"So you're still here." Okazaki says to Fuko as we walk in.

"Ah! It's the weird person!" Fuko exclaims to Okazaki.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Nagisa Furukawa from 3-B." Nagisa introduces herself to Fuko.

"Nice to meet you." Fuko replies warily.

"You remember me, don't you?" I wink and wave to her.

"Yep! You're the girl who liked the guy with the weird hair color!" Fuko says.

I immediately blush. "Wh-what?! I-I don't l-like Sunohara-kun…" I trail off.

"Fuko can tell you do." Fuko explains, and I blush and look away. Is it really that obvious I like Sunohara…?

"Do you have an interest in theater, Fuko-san?" Nagisa asks. I notice that Fuko's carving more starfish sculptures, like the one she handed Okazaki.

"Theater?" Fuko repeats.

"We're recruiting members right now. You're a freshman, and you're not in any clubs, right?" Okazaki says.

"Fuko's busy." She replies. "Fuko doesn't have time to be involved in a club.

"Don't be like that. It's not like you're working on that every moment of the day." Okazaki says.

I glance down at the starfish sculptures she made. They're not detailed, but they definitely look like they were worked on carefully.

"They look really nice." I smile at Fuko. She blinks and smiles cautiously back.

"Y-you think so?" She stammers. I nod.

"Fuko is working on it every moment of the day." Fuko replies. "Fuko's here all day."

"But you do go home at night." Okazaki points out.

"No, Fuko doesn't." Fuko says. "Fuko's here at school all the time."

"Eh?" Nagisa gasps.

"Stop making things up." Okazaki sighs.

"Fuko's not lying." Fuko says. She's starting to look upset. "Fuko's always at school."

"All the way from morning to night?" Okazaki exclaims.

"Yes." Fuko replies. She's staring at the desk.

"So you don't go home?" Okazaki asks.

"No, Fuko doesn't." Fuko whimpers. "There's no point in going home." Her hands are shaking.

"Okazaki-kun…" I trail off, and put a hand on Fuko's shoulder. Nagisa, Okazaki, and I exchange glances.

"Did you run away from home?" Okazaki asks.

"Fuko's not sure why Fuko's here." She says softly. "On the way home from the entrance ceremony, Fuko almost got hit by a car…And when Fuko noticed, Fuko was at school."

I hug her tightly. "Fuko-chan…"

"Hit by a car?" Okazaki repeats.

"Um, Fuko-san…What is your family name?" Nagisa asks.

"It's Ibuki. Fuko Ibuki." She replies.

"Fuko…Ibuki…" Nagisa repeats. "Are you Ibuki-sensei's younger sister?"

Fuko stands up out of her chair, and clings to Okazaki's jacket. "Okazaki-san. Here's someone who knows my sister."

"Y-Yeah…You are repeating a year, aren't you?" He asks Nagisa.

"She was the art teacher when I was a freshman." Nagisa says. "But…I heard her little sister got in a car accident and has been in the hospital ever since." She says this once we're out of hearing range from Fuko. "She came to buy some bread yesterday, too, and said she was returning from visiting her sister. "Okazaki-san…Rin-chan…Have you heard the rumor about the ghost of a girl who was involved in a car accident?"

"You don't mean…" Okazaki trails off.

"You think…Fuko-chan might be…?" I whisper.

"I think we should go to Ibuki-sensei's house." Okazaki says.

"Go to Ibuki-sensei's house…?" Nagisa repeats.

"Yeah. We'll meet her in person and ask. Then we'll know for sure if she's Ibuki-sensei's little sister or not." Okazaki explains. "You'll come with us, won't you?" He calls to Fuko.

"Fuko will wait here." She replies.

"Why? We'll get things done faster if you meet her."

"Fuko will wait here." Fuko repeats. Okazaki sighs.

"Alright. Let's go, Furukawa, Rin." He turns to look at us.

"Ah, I can't come, I have a load of homework I have to start working on…" I trail off.

"That's okay. Then just me and Furukawa?" Okazaki turns to look at her, and she nods.

I actually did that on purpose. I wanted to give the two of them some time alone together~ I can tell that they might be a couple in the future.

On my way home, I keep replaying my run in with Sunohara in the hall, and how he walked me to class. My heart pounds just thinking about him. What am I going to do about this?! I can't just avoid him, but every time I'm around him I blush like crazy, and my heart starts racing…

_Skip, skip!_

Wait…Why the heck am I skipping? Am I suddenly in the first grade?! But I keep skipping anyway. I can't stop smiling either. What am I doing?!

I really am…Head-over-heels in love with Sunohara.

I'm completely in love! Help!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Sunohara-kun, Sunohara-kun, Sunohara-kun_~

I can't stop thinking about him.

Looks like I must be magic, because when I walk into the classroom where I was supposed to meet up with Kyou and Ryou, Sunohara's there too.

"Good morning, Rin-chan!" Ryou says, and I wave to her.

"Sunohara-kun?! What are you doing here?" I exclaim as I walk over and sit next to him. Completely nonchalantly, of course.

"Why, I came for you!" He teases. I blush and look away.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I stammer. He's about to reply when Nagisa, Fuko and Okazaki step into the room.

"Good morning, Okazaki-san, Furukawa-san, Fuko-chan." Ryou greets them.

"Good morning, everyone! Sorry to have you all come." Nagisa smiles.

"Tomoya, why do we have to do this?" Kyou asks Okazaki.

"There are a few reasons behind it." He replies. "I'll all of them some other time."

"What's wrong, Fuko-chan?" Ryou asks Fuko, who's still standing in the doorframe.

"Fuko is a little nervous…" She replies.

"Fu-chan, come here. Class is starting soon." Nagisa calls. I walk over to Fuko and wrap an arm around her shoulder.

"Let's go, Fuko-chan!" I smile. She nods and we walk over to the rest of them. I let go of her, and she goes to cling to Nagisa.

"We have the students, but what are we going to do about the teacher?" Kyou asks.

"That's a problem. I couldn't ask a real teacher." Okazaki says.

"Then is one of us doing the teacher role?" Sunohara asks. Sunohara as a teacher? Kyaaa! And of course, I start blushing like crazy and have to look out the window.

"Not you, since you're an idiot." Okazaki replies.

"Sunohara-kun isn't an idiot!" I burst out, and then I blush super hard when everyone stares at me.

"Well that's surprising. Rin-chan, you call me an idiot every minute of the day!" Sunohara raises his eyebrows.

"Th-that's because…I…." I stammer. But, thank goodness, suddenly Nagisa's mom walks into the classroom.

"Okay! Class is starting!" She says, clapping her hands.

"Sanae-san? Why are you here?" Okazaki asks.

"I heard the story from Nagisa. If you're okay with it, allow me to fill the teacher's role." Sanae says.

"Hey, Tomoya, who is she?" Kyou asks. "Nagisa's older sister?"

"Something like that." Okazaki replies.

"Okay, everyone, take your seats!" Sanae says.

I sit down, and I can't help but notice Sunohara sits right next to me. My heart races. So, I poke Sunohara's foot with mine.

He jumps slightly and raises his eyebrow, then pokes me back.

"Since this is the first class, everyone, please introduce yourselves!" Sanae smiles.

"Yes! I'm Youhei Sunohara!" He shouts, kicking me back. I kick him again. "And I-Rin-chan, stop it!" He says, but he's laughing while he says it, so it doesn't look like he's being serious. He kicks me back.

"Sensei, Sunohara-kun is an idiot." Kyou says.

"Don't go saying things like that!" Sunohara shouts.

"She would have found out soon enough." Okazaki replies. I giggle.

"It's true, you can be an idiot." _A cute idiot. _I say.

"Hey, didn't you just get mad at Tomoya for calling me an idiot?! Make up your mind, Rin-chan!" He laughs. I blush.

"I-I'm allowed to call you an idiot…" I stammer. But I don't think he hears me.

"Sunohara-kun, make up for it with your energy." Sanae says. I laugh, and kick his foot again.

"Idiot." I giggle.

"You're so mean, Rin-chan!" He wails and kicks me back.

"So I've been told!" I reply, and kick him again.

"Rin and Sunohara, stop playing footsie!" Kyou calls, and I blush even harder.

"Rin-chan started it!" Sunohara smirks.

"I-I d-did not!" I stammer and stare at my desk. I realize Sanae's still waiting for me to introduce myself. "Y-Yes, I'm Rin Kimura."

"Rin-chan's mean!" Sunohara calls out, and I blush. Is it possible for my face to get any redder?!

"You guys are acting like a married couple." Kyou scoffs.

Apparently, it is possible, because it does. I sneak a glance at Sunohara and sees he's blushing, too. That probably embarrassed him…I feel bad now, and I stand up.

"I…need to go the restroom." I say. My heart is pounding faster than ever, and I rush out of the classroom. I probably went a little too far that time…

_You guys are acting like a married couple._

Sunohara blushed when she said that…it couldn't be…he like that idea, could it? No, it was probably just embarrassing him or annoying him…

I splash water on my face in the restroom. I'm not blushing as much anymore, thank goodness. I walk back to the classroom and slink in my seat.

"You okay?" Sunohara asks. I blush (again). He's never asked me anything like that before.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm okay!" I reply, and look away.

"Fuko's the class rep. Is that okay?" Nagisa asks, turning to me.

I blink. "Of course it's okay! Good luck with the job, Fuko!" I smile. She blushes and smiles back.

"Let's start the class now. Class representative." Sanae says, turning to Fuko. "You have to say the words."

"Y-yes! Rise!" Fuko stammers. We all stand up. "Bow. Sit."

The rest of the class goes like any class would. We each get called up to the board to answer various questions. I avoid looking at Sunohara, which is a lot harder than I expected it to be.

OOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey. Sorry if that was uncalled for, before." Kyou says.

The three of us are walking home together. Me, Kyou, and Ryou.

I laugh. "It's fine…I was probably pushing it a little too far."

"You know, footsie is one way of flirting." Kyou smirks.

"I-I wasn't t-trying to…" I stammer.

"My point is, he did it back, right?" Kyou demands.

"Y-yeah…But he flirts with every girl, right?" I blush.

"…That's true. But, it could be different with you." Kyou replies, smiling.

"Th-that can't be true…I-I don't have any chance with him, at all…I think I should just give up." I say softly.

Kyou's eyes widen. "Give up? That isn't like you!"

"I agree. It isn't like you to give up, Rin-chan. I think you should try your best with him." Ryou says.

"Y-you're right…" I smile. "Thanks!"

I wave goodbye to the two of them, and find myself skipping and smiling home again.

I can't give up on Sunohara. I can't give up on the one I _love._

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Please take this!" Fuko calls. The two of us are passing out starfish, trying to get more people to come to the wedding.

"Here! Please come to Ibuki-sensei's wedding!" I say, giving a starfish to a girl who's passing by.

"How are we doing?" I ask Fuko. She peers into the bag of starfish.

"We still have lots more to pass out. Fuko isn't giving up!" She smiles. I laugh.

"Neither am I! Here, have this!" I call out.

The two of us hand out a few more starfish, then we head inside, where Nagisa and Okazaki are.

Okazaki explains the Founders Festival, and the amount of starfish we are handing out, while I get lost in thought. I told Ryou and Kyou I wouldn't give up on Sunohara, but now it's getting harder for me to face him. Every time I get near him, I go out of control. I can't even say a full sentence without stuttering.

As if on cue, Sunohara walks right in through the door.

"Which department store's business meeting is this?" He asks, leaning against the doorframe.

I immediately stare in the opposite direction, and start blushing.

"It's the person with the weird hair color!" Fuko calls out, and I giggle to myself. I peer at Sunohara out of the corner of my eye, and notice he's looking my way, but he eventually turns to Fuko.

"Looks like she's as rude a girl as ever." He replies, and I smile. I cover my mouth and hope he didn't notice anything. "And I came to help you, you know." He walks all the way into the room. My heart starts pounding.

"You'll help us too, Sunohara-san?" Nagisa asks. "That's very reliable."

"Are you serious?" Okazaki asks. Sunohara replies, but I can't hear what he's saying. He's looking my way again, and I stare at the floor.

"Fuko doesn't need you." Fuko says.

"Goodbye, Sunohara." Okazaki says.

"Aren't you too cold?!" Sunohara exclaims.

_Please stay, please stay, please stay!_ I beg in my mind. Why am I thinking that?! If he's around I'll just be a nervous wreck…but I still want him to stay!

"Weird people might do something weird, and Fuko doesn't want that. Looking at Okazaki-san, Fuko can really tell that."

"I'm grouped with him?" Okazaki says.

"Wait! Don't make him go!" I burst out, and stand up. Everyone looks at me. "I-I mean, w-we need more people, r-right? I-It would be better if w-we had more people to h-help…" I trail off.

"Fuko still doesn't think a weird person should stay." Fuko says.

"Fine, then! You!" Sunohara spins around and points at Fuko. "Fight me!"

"Sunohara-san! You can't start a fight!" Nagisa wails, and steps in front of Fuko. I run up to him and bonk him on the head.

"Idiot! Fighting will definitely make sure you can't stay here!" I say.

"Yeah, you or else you'll get kicked down a dust chute again!" Okazaki adds. I grimace at that memory.

"No! And it's already decided I'll lose?!" Sunohara wails.

"Fuko has an idea!"

OoOoOoOoOo

"So a fight with sculpting?" Okazaki says.

"I think it's fine since it flows with sportsmanship." Nagisa replies.

"You don't call this a sport." Okazaki mutters.

"If I make a better piece, you'll let me join. If I lose, I won't say a word and back out. Sounds good?" Sunohara says. Fuko nods.

"Okay, the theme is…" Sunohara says. "Nue!"

I hit him on the head.

"Ow! Rin-chan, what the heck was that for?" He wails.

"I don't know. A Nue sounds stupid." I reply haughtily.

"Nue?" Everyone else repeats.

"A Nue is a monster with the head of a monkey, body of a raccoon, tail of a snake, and limbs like a tigers." Sunohara explains.

"Head of a monkey…body of a dog…and favorite food of rice cakes." Fuko says.

"There wasn't a word of favorite foods in his description." Okazaki points out

"Well, whatever…ready…go!" Sunohara says..

I'm rooting for Sunohara, of course. I want him to stay in here…even if it means I'll be a mess. I get lost in thought for a while, when suddenly Fuko shouts "Fuko is done!"

"That fast?!"

"Wait-"

"Th-this is…"

She had created a sculpture of a cartoon-like-styled frog.

Okazaki and Sunohara simultaneously fall over.

"How is this a nue?!" Sunohara demands.

"This was the best Fuko could do…" She whimpers.

"Sunohara, go easy on her. You haven't even started." I tease and nudge him.

"You don't get credit for making something that doesn't follow the theme. I guess I'm the winner…AUGGHH!" Suddenly Sunohara falls out of his chair.

"You idiot! Did you prick yourself with the knife? Are you okay? You seriously get hurt too much!" I panic and grab his hand. It's bleeding like crazy.

"Did not finish. Fuko wins." Okazaki says.

"Can't you worry about me a little?!" Sunohara demands. I grab his hand.

"Hold on a sec. Let me get something to stop the bleeding." I say and run to the bathroom to grab a paper towel. I grab a few extra.

"We're going to the nurses office." I demand.

"Seriously it isn't that big of a d-OWWW!"

"Eep! I'm sorry!" I whimper as I press the paper towel to his hand. "Hold still…" I wrap it carefully around his hand. "Come on. No arguing."

"You know, you can be kind of scary…" Sunohara glances at me as the two of us walk out of the classroom.

"Maybe you shouldn't get yourself hurt as much." I reply. "Honestly, I've never met someone who gets hurt so many times a day. You need to be more careful."

"Honestly, you worry about me way too much…" He blushes and looks away. "…Thank you…for all of this."

I blush. "I-It's nothing…you should stop being an idiot, okay?" I flick his forehead.

"…Yeah." He's staring at me.

"Wh-what is it?" I blush harder.

"Nothing. It's nothing." He says. The two of us just kind of stare at each other until Sunohara coughs and looks away.

"Oh, we're here. How many times I have I brought you in here now?" I say, and walk into the nurses office. "It doesn't look like anyone's here…" I walk to the cabinet and grab some antibiotic cream or whatever it's called and a few band-aids.

"Let me see your hand." I command. Sunohara gives me his hand and I hold it over the sink and wash it.

"Ow…" He whimpers.

"I'm sorry…just a little longer…" I whisper, and turn the sink off and dry it with a paper towel. "Dang it…you cut it pretty deep." Blood keeps flowing from the cut on his hand, and I apply some of the cream. He flinches. "I'm really sorry…" I put the band-aids on, carefully.

"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who got hurt." He smiles half-way. I smile back, and realize I'm still holding on to his hand. I don't want to let go…he doesn't even make any movement to pull it back.

I'm blushing so hard, and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. I let go of his hand, and realize he's staring at me again. I fidget uncomfortably. I open my mouth to say something, when suddenly Nagisa walks into the room.

"Rin-chan? Sunohara-san? Are you guys okay? You didn't come back…Oh!" She sees the two of us standing so close to each other. "A-are you okay, Sunohara-san?"

"I'm fine. Rin-chan fixed up my hand." He winks at me, and I blush and look away.

"That's good," She gives me a questioning look, and I just shake my head. She seems to understand.

"Here, wait a moment. You two start heading up." I say.

Sunohara tilts his head. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." I smile. "Just one moment."

The two of them wave to me and I wait for them to be out of the room before I…start freaking out. What was that? What was that?! Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god! I skip around the room, smiling like an idiot for a couple of minutes before I grab a couple of more band-aids for Sunohara. That whole scene didn't mean anything, right?

My hand still feels warm from where his hand was…

oOoOoOoOoOo

**Phew, longest chapter yet! I really, really hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think for a plushie of a Nue! I'd love to hear your opinions and ideas! Thanks so much for reading, and please stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Eep! Here we are at our 5****th**** chapter! Oh my gosh, thank you all so much for reading! **

**Thank you very much AHero7 for your kind review! You made me smile when I read it! I am so glad you enjoyed the story, and I hope you like this chapter! *hands you Nue plushie***

**Thank you, AlwaysTheTruth for your review! Yes, I originally posted this last night but at the last minute I decided there were a few things I wanted to change so I took it down XD I'm so glad you're enjoying it! That makes me so happy! *hands you a Nue plushie***

**And thank you so much xxxCherry-Lotusxxx for your review! Yes, I try for the weird gifts XD Thank you so much! Fuko was hard to write, so I tried my best XD And I'm actually really getting into this story myself XD I hope you enjoy this chapter! *hands you Nue plushie***

I hardly got any sleep last night. The entire night, I was replaying our scene in the nurses office, over and over again, and I would get all squealy and bouncy and start smiling like an idiot.

I stumble to school, exhausted, and yawning, when someone pokes my back.

"Eep!" I scream and whirl around, and see it's none other than~~Sun~o~hara! "Wh-what the heck are you doing?! Idiot!"

He jumps. "Geez. I didn't know you were such a scaredy-cat, Rin-chan. I see you're as prickly as ever." Sunohara laughs.

I blush harder and turn around and hide my face."Wh-what do you w-want?"

"Did you forget? Today's the day of the Founders Festival." Sunohara says.

My eyes widen. "That's today? Shoot…"

"So you did forget." He laughs, a sound that makes my heart race even faster. I notice his hand is still bandaged.

"O-oh yeah, how's your hand?" I ask. He lifts it up.

"It's doing a lot better. Thanks. You really saved me back there." Sunohara replies, looking like he wants to say something else but blushes and looks away.

"I-It really w-was nothing…You scared the heck out of me when I saw how badly you were bleeding." I say. "Did you change the bandages and everything?"

"Oh? And why did that scare you?" He winks. "And yep, don't worry, I took care of everything. You worry way too much."

_I only worry too much about you…_ "I-I already told you, I don't like seeing blood, remember?" I huff. "And good. Does it still hurt?"

"I remember. And nope, doesn't hurt at all." Sunohara says. I raise an eyebrow and gently take his hand, then poke it.

"Ow!" He flinches. And I stop.

"Sorry, sorry! You shouldn't lie if it still hurts." I giggle.

"I-I didn't want you to worry any more about me…" Sunohara blushes, and stares at the ground. Is he embarrassed? S-Sooo cute! Wait, what?!

"Hey. Seriously, don't lie. I'm really worried about you. The knife you had was kind of rusted, right? You made sure to clean it properly, right?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, yes, I did. Stop worrying so much!" He flicks my forehead with his other hand, and I realize I'm still holding his other one. It's so warm…This time, I don't let go. My heart's pounding so hard, I can hear it in my ears. I'm blushing like crazy. Is he going to pull it away? We've probably only been standing there for a few seconds, but it seems like an eternity. Time itself seems to slow down.

I slowly look up at Sunohara, and our eyes meet. He hasn't pulled it away yet…Oh god, maybe he thinks I'm creepy just standing there like this?! I slowly pull my hand away, like usual. But only after we stood there for a minute. A minute. His hand. In mine. It was so, so warm.

Sunohara's still looking at me, and he's about to say something, when someone calls our names.

"Sunohara-kun! Rin-chan!" Nagisa's calling us from our classroom window. Both of us jump, and look at each other quickly, then look away. "Come join uuusss!"

I look at Sunohara out of the corner of my eye. "W-we should probably go…" I whisper. Why am I whispering?!

"Y-yeah…" He murmurs. Suddenly, I'm tempted to grab his hand again…If I did that, would he pull it away? Or would he leave it? While I'm thinking this, Sunohara's already walked on ahead, and is waving to me.

"Come on, slow poke!" Sunohara calls. I snap out of it and run after him.

_I love you, Sunohara-kun!_

Will I ever be brave enough to say those words? That words that have more power than any other words?

OoOoOoOoOo

I'm wearing a maid outfit. I. Am. Wearing. A. Maid. Outfit!

Nagisa and Fuko insisted I join them, and Fuko told me I'd look good in a maid outfit. So that's how it came to me wearing one.

When I return to the room, Sunohara's eyes widen when he sees me.

"Wh-what? Do I look weird?" I blush hard. "D-Don't stare, idiot!"

"N-no, that's not it! You look…n-nice…" He stammers. My eyes widen. Did he say what I think he just said.

"Wha?" I blush super hard, then start laughing nervously. "H-Here, sit down! Let me get you something to eat!" I say, shoving him into a chair.

What the heck was that?! Did he just…compliment me?! N-no way, right?! H-He probably said that to everyone wearing a maid outfit…right?

I grab him one of the pastries we were serving and a drink, and wait other tables while Fuko passes out starfish. I grab one from the bag and head over to Sunohara.

"Did Fuko-chan hand you one of these yet?" I say, giving it to him.

"No…is this a ninja star or something?" He asks and waves it in the air.

I giggle. "Heh, no, it's a starfish. She'd probably behead you if she heard you say it's a ninja star."

His eyes widen. "Really?" I laugh.

"Yeah. She's kind of sensitive about it. Make sure you know it's a starfish."

At that moment, Fuko comes charging over.

"Did someone say starfish?!" She gasps.

"Isn't this a ninja star?" Sunohara smirks. "Rin-chan told me it was one."

Fuko's eyes widen. "N-ninja star?! Is that what you think this is?"

I glare at Sunohara. "That's obviously a starfish, right?! Mr. Weird Hair Color here was the one who thought it was a ninja star."

"This is a starfish! Starfish! Fuko is horrified you think it's a ninja star!" She huffs, and storms away.

"See what I mean?" I smile and sit down next to him. Be calm, be calm, dang it, heart stop pounding so crazily!

"Huh. Well, people have their quirks." Sunohara replies. I giggle and poke his forehead.

"Is yours that you're a special kind of idiot?" I laugh.

"Is yours that you're a special kind of mean?" He retorts and raises his eyebrows.

"Thank you. I try." I smirk.

"Well, you're doing a good job." Sunohara says, not missing a beat. The two of us just kind of stare at each other until I cough and stand up.

"I-I gotta get back to waiting. Will you be here for much longer?" I say nonchalantly. "We could check out the rest of the festival with everyone else." _You go! You're asking him out on a date! …Not really. Not at all. Oh well…close enough?_

"Yeah. I'll wait for you." He replies, and I blush and shuffle my feet.

"Th-thanks…do you want anything else to drink?" I ask, feeling my face burning.

"No thanks. Don't want to make you any more busy." He says, and looks away. Is he blushing?

I wave to him and serve a few more people before I change back into my uniform.

"Okay! Nagisa-chan and Okazaki-kun are waiting for us outside." I say. Sunohara smiles at me, and all of the sudden I feel like melting. How is it possible for one human being to be so adorable?

"Let's go," Sunohara says, and the two of us walk out of the classroom.

I never knew my heart could pound that fast and not explode…

"Yo," Okazaki says as we step out into the hall.

"Looks like things are going well today." Sunohara comments as a couple of girls pass by, talking about Fuko.

"She's become famous, huh?" Okazaki comments.

"Well, she is working so hard every day. Fu-chan taught me a lesson. I'll copy what Fu-chan is doing and recruit members for the Theater Club without giving up. And I will participate in the school festival with everyone." Nagisa says.

"Yes! I won't give up wither!" I smile and high-five Nagisa.

"I'm going to help my beloved Rin-chan, as well~" He says. I immediately turn strawberry red.

"What the heck was that?!" I demand, blushing harder than ever. I smack him on the head and dash off.

Wh-wh-what was that?! Suddenly there's a screaming, and before I know it, Sunohara's getting kicked out of another window.

"W-why'd you do that?" I wail. There's a person wearing a bear costume, and they take off their head. It's Tomoyo.

"Eh? He wasn't harassing you?" She asks and tilts her head.

"N-no, he wasn't…h-he just e-embarassed me…" I stammer. "B-but not in a bad way! Oh my god I sound like an idiot…I need to go find him!"

Tomoyo stares at me. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"Wh-what? N-no w-way…Okay, y-yes…Is it seriously that obvious?!" I whimper. "N-Never mind, I have to go to Sunohara!"

Ok, am I really that obvious about my feelings for Sunohara?

I rush outside the school, and find Sunohara in a bush. I sigh exasperatedly.

"You really are a helpless idiot, huh?" I giggle and help him out.

"Why do I get beat up everywhere I go?" He wails.

"That was Tomoyo. She thought you were harassing me." I explain, then blush. "I-I'm sorry for running off l-like that…It's my fault you got hurt…"

"Tomoyo…I'm going to get her back…And you didn't do anything wrong…I'm sorry too…" Sunohara trails off. I've never seen him look upset before.

"N-no! You don't need to be sorry! You're the one who didn't do anything wrong! Ahh, oh my gosh, your hand…!" I panic and grab it. It doesn't look too bad, but he flinches when I take it.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" I gasp. "I'm so sorry…" I pull him up and drape his arm over my shoulder.

"This needs to stop." I tease. "Let's get you fixed up."

After much contemplation, I put one arm around his waist to support him better, and I blush super hard. This isn't the time to be blushing! He needs help!

"We're almost there…" I say, as we reach the nurses office.

I wait in a chair while the nurse gets him fixed up. What Sunohara said is ringing in my mind…

_I'm going to help my beloved Rin-chan as well!_

Beloved. Rin-chan.

_Beloved._

He was obviously just teasing me…right? He probably says that to every girl…

And then what he said earlier. He told me I looked nice. He probably says that to every girl, too. I shouldn't get my hopes up…I have no chance with an amazing guy like him. But I remember what I said to Kyou and Ryou. I can't give up…I can't! Because I love Sunohara. I really, truly do. And so, I can't give up on him.

"Sorry for the wait." Sunohara says. I spaced out, and when I look up, he's got bandages all over his face.

"Are you okay!?" I jump up and inspect his bandages and take his hand. "What did she say? Will you be alright?!"

He laughs that amazing laugh. "Calm down. I'll be fine. She kind of got mad that I'm back in here though…she said she might not help me anymore if I keep getting beat up."

I let out a sigh of relief and poke him. "Stop getting beat up, idiot, okay?" I giggle.

"I'll try, mean Rin-chan." He says. "But I'm a magnet for getting beat up, remember?"

I roll my eyes. "Yep. Also a magnet for idiocy."

"Ow! You're so meeeaaannn!" He wails and pokes me back. I jump.

"So I've been told~" I laugh. The two of us walk together upstairs, teasing each other more and my heart races faster than ever. I managed to only stammer three or four times, though. Must be a new record.

I feel like I'm walking on air. I feel _amazing._

Sunohara, what have you done to me?

oOoOoOoOo

_Of course I'm not a stalker! Of course I'm not!_

"Rin-chan?"

"Eep! U-um, hi Sunohara-kun!" I jump and blush hard. "Y-you heading to class?"

"Yep. Wanna come with me?" He asks. I blush even harder and walk up to him.

"S-sure!" We walk up the stairs, then stop when we hear arguing.

"Okazaki-san, you're so rude!"

"You're the rude one!"

"Hey. Looks like you guys are getting along today, too." Sunohara smirks. Fuko and Okazaki are at the top of the stairs, arguing with each other like usual.

"We're not getting along at all!" Fuko shouts. I giggle.

"Fuko-chaaan! You're so cuuuute!" I laugh and throw my arms around her.

"E-Eep! Unhand me, stranger!" She calls. I fake a hurt expression.

"You've forgotten me already?" I giggle.

"You! You're the one who likes the wei-" My eyes widen and I slap my hand over her mouth.

"Fuko-chan! Don't say anything about it!" I whisper. Her eyes widen too. I take my hand off her mouth.

"I'm sorry! Anyways…" She glares at Okazaki and Sunohara. "Okazaki-san and Sunohara-san should not do anything that bothers Fuko. Otherwise, a disaster will befall you."

"Really? Tell me what'll happen. Come on, so what'll happen?" Sunohara teases and pokes Fuko's nose.

"Sunohara-kun!" I do a facepalm.

Fuko whistles, almost so high I can't hear it.

Sunohara laughs. "Heh." Suddenly, there's a loud rumbling through the halls.

"Idiot…" I mutter to Sunohara, and his eyes widen.

"PROTECT FUKO-CHAN!" A whole stampede of men run through the hallways and pick Okazaki up, carrying him away.

"OKAZAKI! RIN! HELP MEEEE!" He calls.

I roll my eyes. "See you around. I gotta go rescue the idiot."

oOoOoOoOo

"Released from the hospital? What's that?" Sunohara asks. Fuko, Okazaki, Sunohara, Nagisa and I are all gathered in the classroom.

"You lost the fight, so why are you here?" Okazaki stares at him.

"Don't be so stingy! I came here to see my beloved Rin-chan!" He winks at me. I turn bright red and try to force myself not to bolt out of the classroom.

"Wh-what the heck are you saying that for?!" I mumble. He laughs.

"It's true~" He replies.

My resolve breaks, and I end up dashing out of the classroom. I can hear Sunohara saying,

"She rejected me!?"

I splash water on my face. Why does he keep saying things like that?! Does he know how fast he makes my heart pound? How much he makes me blush?! …How much I love him?!

I slink back into class and hide my face on the desk. "I'm sorry for leaving like that…"

"We don't blame you. Sunohara's creepy." Okazaki says.

Sunohara fakes a hurt look. "I'm not creepy!"

I blush hard. "I-It wasn't Sunohara's fault…I, uh, remembered something I had to do."

Suddenly Fuko's laughing happily, looking completely dazed.

"There she goes again. Sunohara, put your head on the table." Okazaki says. I tilt my head.

"Why?" Sunohara and I say at the same time. I blush and look away.

"I beg you. It has to be your handsome face for this to work." Okazakis says, and I raise my eyebrows. This can't be good. Sunohara stands up and strikes a pose, and I giggle.

"I suppose it can't be helped." Sunohara says, and I laugh even more. Sunohara glances at me and raises his eyebrow, then rests his head on the desk.

"Okazaki-san, what are you doing?" Nagisa asks. Okazaki places Fuko's finger right on top of Sunohara's nose, and I snort.

"Fuko became too relaxed from poking the starfish." Fuko exclaims.

"Don't worry. Poke the starfish all you want." Okazaki says. I cover my mouth to stop myself from bursting into laughter.

"Fuko _is _poking as much as Fuko likes without you having to say so." Fuko replies. She laughs and pokes Sunohara's face more.

"Eeeee!" Sunohara wails.

"Ahahahaha!" I laugh. Suddenly Fuko's finger lands right in Sunohara's mouth, and she shrieks, grabs her starfish and starts hitting Sunohara.

"Wow, that looks painful." Okazaki says. My eyes widen, and before I'm even aware of what I'm doing, I push Sunohara off the desk, and before I know it, I'm the one being hit with a starfish.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I whimpers as the back of my head gets attacked by Fuko's starfish.

Her eyes widen and she immediately stops hitting me.

"Oww..." I groan and rub my head. "Yeesh, I never knew a starfish could hurt that much..."

I realize that everyone's staring at me. I blink. "What? Am I bleeding or something?" I touch the front of my face. I don't feel anything...

"Rin-chan..." Sunohara stares at me, and I blush and look away.

"I-I would do that if any one of you were being attacked by Fuko's starfish..." I lie. "Are you alright?"

He laughs. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're the one who took most of the beating." He reaches a hand up and touches my face, and my eyes widen, and I pull away.

"Sorry, did that hurt?" Sunohara asks. I nod. It didn't really...but the shock of him doing that...We're staring at each other again, and I quickly look away.

What does any of this mean?!

oOoOoOoOo

**That wraps up our fifth chapter! Thank you all so, so much for reading! It means so much!**

**I would love it if you reviewed! I love getting reviews, they inspire me too keep writing! Review for a pastry from the Founders Festival school café! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Whoop! Things are going to pick up a little at the end of this chapter! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Thank you xxxCherry-Lotusxxx for your review! I followed your advice XD And no problemo! XD**

The next day, Sunohara doesn't come to school.

I'm relieved and disappointed at the same time. Since he didn't come, I don't have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of him again…But at the same time, I want him to be here…Sunohara...How long have I loved him? I remember Okazaki realized it before I did. I denied it for so long...but, it's like, who wouldn't fall in love with him? He's cute, funny, sweet. He always manages to make me laugh. He might not act like it, bu the's one of the kindest people I've ever known.

"Please take this!" Fuko's handing out starfish in the hallways again. But more people are ignoring her…She's hardly been passing out any starfish at all.

"No luck, huh?" I go over to sit beside Fuko. She shakes her head.

"Fuko isn't giving up yet, though!" Fuko says. I smile and pull my knees to my chest. I thought about what Nagisa said at the Founders Festival…

_Fu-chan taught me a lesson. I'll copy what Fu-chan is doing and recruit members for the Theater Club without giving up. _

Fuko really is admirable. Even with less people accepting her starfish, she hasn't even thought about giving up…And same with Nagisa. She hasn't given up on recruiting members for the Theater Club. But I can't say the same about my crush on Sunohara…I'm lost in thought when Fuko comes over and shoves a starfish in my face.

"Please take this!" She says and smiles. "Fuko hasn't given you one of these yet, right?" I smile back and take the starfish from her.

"Thank you, Fuko-chan!" Suddenly I'm tearing up and Fuko gasps.

"Wh-what is it, Rin-chan?!" Fuko wails. I thought about what Okazaki and Nagisa were telling me. Fuko's the younger sister of Ibuki-sensei…but she's like the ghost of her. And when they tried to introduce the two at the Founders Festival, Ibuki-sensei couldn't see her.

"I love you, Fuko-chan!" I pull her into a hug. Her eyes widen. "No matter what…"

_She's being forgotten…_

Yesterday, Sunohara told me how upperclassman had ignored Fuko completely, and how people were starting to forget her. Okazaki told me that since her condition had worsened, people were starting to forget Fuko…

I let her go and sniffle. "Sorry for being weird, Fuko-chan…"

"Have you figured out what to do about weird hair color Sunohara-san?" Fuko asks. I shake my head.

"No…Every time I get around him, all of my resolve fades, and it's like I can't even face him…" I whisper. I think of his bright blue eyes, and his warm smile, and I instantly start blushing.

"Good, luck, Rin!" Fuko smiles.

OoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, I stand against the wall with Nagisa and Okazaki, as we watch Fuko try to give starfish out to more people.

"It looks like more people are walking by her since yesterday…" Nagisa trails off.

"Good morning, Nagisa, Rin-chan!" A familiar voice calls, and my heart skips a beat.

"M-Morning, Sunohara-kun!" I blush. Don't fail me now, resolve!

"Morning? It's lunch break." Okazaki points out, and I laugh.

"Did you just get here, Sunohara-san?" Nagisa asks.

"Well, something really weird happened, you know? Maybe that's what it feels like to have amnesia." Sunohara replies, and my eyes widen.

"Amnesia? Did you get hit on the head, idiot?" I exclaim. "What's my name?" I wave my hands in front of his face.

He rolls his eyes. "Very funny, Rin-chan. I don't mean that kind of amnesia…I just forgot what I was doing earlier…You see, when I came to, I was walking out of a hospital a city away. I don't have a clue why I went over there. I wonder why I went to a hospital…maybe I was sleep-walking?"

My eyes widen even more.

"Okazaki-kun…" I whisper and glance at him.

"Sunohara. Do you want Fuko's starfish?" Okazaki asks. Fuko walks over to Sunohara slowly.

"Fuko?" Sunohara asks.

"You didn't receive one yet, did you?" Okazaki says.

"Actually, I gave him one at the Founders Festival…" I say.

But Okazaki isn't listening.

"Please take this." Fuko says, and holds a starfish in front of him. He turns around, looking confused. When suddenly a voice shouts his name. I turn around to see Kyou barreling down the stairs, Ryou behind her.

"You came late again, didn't you?!" Kyou demands, walking up to him. "Don't cry when you find yourself short in attendance."

"Why do you care about my attendance?" Sunohara mutters.

"If you skip school, my sister gets called by her teacher over you!" Kyou says.

"W-Wait a moment! Sunohara didn't come in late on purpose this time…" I trail off. Kyou doesn't seem to be listening. She's glancing over where Fuko is.

"What's that? A sculpture of a star? What are you guys doing with th-" Her eyes widen and she stops talking.

"Onee-chan, doesn't that seem familiar?" Ryou says.

"I was just having the same feeling…" Kyou replies, staring at the starfish.

"She's Fu-chan! We took classes together!" Nagisa bursts out.

"Don't tell me you don't remember?!" I add.

"Look, she's right here!" Okazaki says, and pushes Fuko in front of him. Kyou stares at him, still looking confused. Okazaki reaches for the bag with all the starfish in them.

"Here! You guys should have these at your house, too!" Okazaki shouts, and holds up a starfish. "Look for them! And remember her!

"No, I can't remember anything…God, this is so annoying!" Kyou clutches her head and shakes.

"Onee-chan! Calm down!" Ryou says. I turn to Sunohara.

"Sunohara-kun…you don't remember Fuko?" I whisper. He stares at me and shakes his head.

If he forgot about Fuko…does that mean he forgot about things related to her, too? The classes we took, when we messed around with each other by kicking each other, when he got cut from trying to beat Fuko in a sculpture race and I took him down to the nurses office. "Do you remember…when we were taking classes together? With Nagisa's mom?" I whisper. "Do you remember when your hand got hurt?"

He frowns, and holds his head. "I-I remember that…but I can't remember why…what they were for…Why were we taking those classes again? Why was I trying to carve a sculpture?"

I tear up. "Fuko-chan…" Nagisa's hugging her tightly, and Fuko has a blank expression on her face.

"Who's Fuko? I feel like she's someone important…" Sunohara trails off. He's making a pained expression…He must be trying to remember.

"Why…can't I remember?" Sunohara mutters.

I grab his hand and squeeze it gently. "It's okay, Sunohara-kun. Don't worry about it." I smile. My heart's pounding for two reasons now. One, I grabbed his hand! Kyaaa! And two, if Sunohara, Kyou, and Ryou forgot Fuko, that means I'm going to soon.

He frowns. "Rin-chan, is it something important?" He squeezes my hand back, and I blush and slowly pull it away.

"It is…but don't worry about it. Maybe you'll remember soon." I smile weakly. Sunohara waves goodbye and heads back to class, while I turn back to Nagisa, Okazaki, and Fuko.

"It looks like it's fading away from those who know her less…" Okazaki murmurs. I didn't spend as much time with Fuko as they did, so that means I'll probably be the next to forget her.

I bend down and give Fuko a hug. "Thank you, Fuko-chan, for everything." I whisper. I can't cry…I can't! She hugs me back.

"Good luck with Sunohara-san." She replies. I hug her tightly, then pull away and wave goodbye to the three of them. The three of them…they look kind of like a family. I want to let them have more time together, if what's going to happen does happen.

OOoOoOoOo

"Hey there, you three." Sunohara greets. There are four of us sitting down, but Sunohara only notices three of us. "Wanna go get lunch?"

It looks like his memory of Fuko hasn't returned.

"You go alone. We're busy." Okazaki replies coldly. I can't blame him, though. I want to join Sunohara, but it feels wrong to leave Fuko here. Since I could forget her at any moment…

"Come on, Rin-chan, Nagisa. You can't want to be here alone with him." Sunohara glances at the two of us. I wish he had only asked me…Suddenly, he grabs my hand. "Let's go get something to eat, Rin-chan!"

My heart races. I'm about to say 'okay!' when Okazaki suddenly shouts "Stop it!" He let's go of my hand and I frown.

"What's eating him?" Sunohara asks. "You tell him too, Fuko-chan!"

Nagisa, Okazaki, Fuko and I all stare at him in shock. He remembers…?

"I just said something weird, didn't I?" Sunohara groans, rubbing his head. Looks like he hasn't…

"A name! You just said a person's name!" Okazaki grabs Sunohara by the shoulders and shakes him. "You just said a girl's name!"

"Sunohara-san! Please remember!" Nagisa shouts. Sunohara makes a pained expression.

"No, I can't…" He mutters. "I can't remember anymore…but I can feel it. There was once someone like that…"

Fuko steps towards him. "Um, this…" She hands him a starfish. Recognition flashes across his face, for just a second, before he looks like he's in pain again.

"Why…am I holding this? What is this? A star? Maybe a ninja star? I don't get it…Okazaki…Nagisa…Rin-chan…Listen to me. I didn't hate her. At least, I don't think I did." Sunohara murmurs.

"It's Fu-chan, Sunohara-san!" Nagisa says. "Fuko-chan!"

Sunohara clutches his head and I grip his hand, and turn to Okazaki and Nagisa. "Stop it…He can't remember." I turn back to Sunohara. "That's enough, Sunohara-kun…it's okay. The two of us will head to lunch, okay?" I say to Nagisa, Fuko and Okazaki.

"Rin-chan…what was that? Why can't I remember?" He says. He seems so weak in this moment, it takes all of my will-power not to wrap my arms around him and hug him.

"It's alright, Sunohara-kun. You don't have to worry about it." I say softly. Sunohara glances at me and nods. Light filters through the windows, illuminating the shadows, and Sunohara walks through the beams. It seems like some kind of scene from a movie. It's quiet. I can't hear anything, except for the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.

He turns around. I didn't realize I wasn't walking. "Are you coming, Rin-chan?" He calls. I can't breathe. I shake my head and run towards him.

"I'm sorry…I got lost in thought." I murmur. We're walking side by side now, matching each other's stride perfectly.

"Heh. You've been doing that a lot lately. Got something big on your mind?" Sunohara asks.

_You have no idea_. "…Something like that, yeah." I reply.

"Anything I can help with?" He says. Suddenly, in that moment, everything comes crashing down on me. I can't take it. My feelings for him. They need to come out. _No! I can't tell him! There's no way he feels the same way! It's impossible. If you tell him, your friendship will be ruined. So don't say anything._

Sunohara's staring at me, with those perfect blue eyes.

"I…I…I have to go!" I murmur, and before he can reply, I dash off. _I'm such an idiot!_ _I can't do it after all…but it's better this way, right? Since there's a -1% chance he actually likes me back…It's fine for us to say as friends. So nothing will get ruined…This is what I'm going to do now…I have to give up on my feelings. I'm sorry, Sunohara-kun._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next morning, I forget about Fuko. Of course, I'm not aware of it at all. I remember having those classes with Nagisa's mom, when I kicked Sunohara's feet, when he cut himself from trying to make a sculpture, but there are new blank spots in my memory.

Why? Why were we having those classes? And why was Sunohara trying to make a sculpture?

I can't remember…I can't remember it at all!

It hurts…Why? Why can't I remember?

As I walk to school, Okazaki and Nagisa wave to me.

"Hi Nagisa-chan, Okazaki-kun!" I wave.

"What? You're not going to greet Fuko?" Okazaki asks. Fuko? Who's that? I repeat this out loud. "You…you forgot too…"

Nagisa and Okazaki exchange a glance, and wave goodbye to me as I head up to class. Why did they seem upset? Who's Fuko? Is she a friend of theirs?

"Good morning, Rin-chan!" A familiar voice snaps me out of my thoughts, and my heart pounds.

"G-Good morning, Sunohara-kun!" Stop…Heart, stop racing like that…It's no good…I have to give up on him. I sit down without looking at Sunohara, and try to avoid talking to him.

"Rin-chan? Something wrong?" He frowns. I force a laugh.

"Nothing's wrong! I just…didn't get enough sleep last night. How's your hand?" I change the subject.

"Oh, I'm sorry. And it's doing better than ever." He shows it to me. "Poke it."

I raise an eyebrow and do what he says. He doesn't wince this time.

"See, I didn't flinch! I think I can stop wearing this bandages soon! It's doing a lot better!" Sunohara smiles. "Thank you, Rin-chan!"

I blush. "I-I'm so glad! That makes me happy. And i-it was nothing!" I reply.

For the rest of the day, I try to avoid Sunohara as much as I can. It hurts…but it's better like this, after all. At least I can still have my friendship with him…

OOoOoOoOo

I wake up the next morning feeling like I had something very important to do…But I can't remember.

"Rin-chan, aren't you going to that wedding at your school today?" My mom asks. I shoot up. The wedding! Crap! How did I forget?!

"So you're going?" Mom asks.

"Of course! I can't believe I forgot!" I exclaim. My mom stares at me.

"You forgot? That's all you could talk about for the past week!" She says. Why did I forget something like that…? And I still feel like there's something else I'm forgetting…

"Wait. You have to get dressed up." Mom says.

"Why? Can't I just go in my school uniform?" I ask.

"It's a wedding. You have to get dressed properly."

And that's how I ended up going to school wearing a dress.

"Wait a minute? I'm the only one who had to get dressed up?!" I wail as I go to join Nagisa, Okazaki, Ryou and Kyou. They're all wearing their school uniforms, and I fidget uncomfortably in my dress.

"You're not the only one. Someone else came here dressed up." Okazaki smirks.

I tilt my head. "Who?"

"Yo." A familiar voice says. I turn around and see none other than Sunohara, wearing a white tuxedo that he looks amazing in. What did I just say?

"So you came." Nagisa smiles.

"Since I had time to spare" Sunohara replies, smirking. He's holding a starfish.

"What are you wearing a tuxedo for?!" I huff, blushing hard. His eyes widen when he sees me. Did he just notice me now?

"Wh-what are you wearing a dress for?!" Sunohara retorts. He's staring at me, and I fidget uncomfortably.

"Wh-why are y-you looking at me l-like that?" I whimper, blushing harder than ever.

Sunohara tears his gaze away and laughs awkwardly. "N-nothing! Y-you look nice." He blushes.

My eyes widen. "Wh-what?"

"F-Forget I said that." Sunohara stammers. Suddenly, he links arms with me.

"Wh-what a-are you d-doing?! Idiot!" I wail. He's making it harder for me to get over him! Idiot, idiot, idiot!

He blinks at me. "Do you want me to let go?"

I stare at him, my face strawberry red, and I don't say anything. Nothing will come out. I'm standing here, my mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"I'll take that as a no!" Sunohara grins.

"You guys both dressed up like that…You really look like a couple." Kyou smirks.

"E-Eh?! W-we do n-not!" I stammer. "D-Don't say weird t-things!"

Is that…disappointment? Did Sunohara look disappointed when I said that? I'm imagining things…

oOoOoOoOoOo

"So I heard you and Okazaki had some kind of romantic meeting this morning." I raise my eyebrows as Nagisa comes into class.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Nagisa laughs.

"Kyou told me all about it~So what? Do you like him?" I ask.

"O-Of course not! H-He's only helping me get the Theater Club back together. There's nothing going on between us." Nagisa replies.

I blink. "Well, if you say so." I don't believe her, though. Those two are seriously cute together!

But my own love problem…

Sunohara walks in with Okazaki, and they both give me a strange look.

"Wh-what?!" I demand, blushing.

They exchange a glance. "Nothing." Sunohara says, then sits down in his seat.

What was that all about?

"Oh yeah, Rin, you and Nagisa might get a new member in your club." Okazaki says.

"A new member?" I ask. "Who?"

"Kotomi Ichinose. The Genius Girl." Okazaki replies.

Genius Girl? I've heard her name around school, but I've never seen her before. This should be fairly interesting.

When I go to the club room, Nagisa and a girl I've never seen before are talking about the Big Dango Family.

"Hi!" I turn to Okazaki and point to the girl. "Is that Kotomi-san?"

"Yep. But she's pretty shy." Okazaki says. I step over to the girl.

"Kotomi-san?" I say softly. She turns around and looks at me.

"H-Hello…" She whispers.

I smile. "I'm Rin Kimura. I'd love to have you in the club!" I extend my hand.

Kotomi shakes it carefully. "Rin-chan…call me Kotomi-chan, okay?"

"Kotomi-chan? Okay, sure! Nice to meet you, Kotomi-chan!" I reply.

"N-Nice to meet you, Rin-chan…" She says. Her voice is so soft, it's almost hard to hear.

I turn back to Okazaki. "You and Sunohara-kun haven't changed your minds about joining the Theater Club at all, have you?"

Okazaki shakes his head. "Nope. I don't know about Sunohara. He says he might join if you're in it." He smirks.

I glare at him. "Don't make things up like that!" I huff.

"I'm not making anything up!" He replies, and I turn away. I don't believe him…Would Sunohara join…just for me?

oOoOoOoOo

"Rin-chan, do you want to eat lunch with me?" Sunohara asks. I stare at him.

"S-Sure…" Eating lunch with him won't harm anything, right?

"Let's go find Okazaki." Sunohara says, and I feel a little disappointed. Not just me, again…I need to stop getting my hopes up!

The two of us walk down the hall together, while I try to keep the conversation light.

"Oh, Okazaki, that's where you were!" Sunohara calls out the window. I peer out with him and see Okazaki…and Kotomi hugging a bear? Oh, that's right, Tomoyo was using that bear suit at the Founders Festival. Suddenly Sunohara screams.

"You're the bear that kicked me the other day! Tomoyo! Don't move from there, I'll get my rezombie on you!" Sunohara shouts.

Before I have time to stop him, or correct him on his word choice, he dashes outside.

"Sunohara-kun! Stop! Sunoharaaaa!" I yell, running after him. By the time I make it outside after him, Tomoyo has already kicked him into a bush.

"Idiot…" I pant, running after him. "I thought you were going to stop trying to beat Tomoyo." I help him out of the bush.

"Congratulations. You've called me an idiot one hundred times now." Sunohara groans, rubbing his head.

"Well, you are an idiot. It has to be said." I snort. "Do you need to go to the nurses office?"

"No, not this time." He stumbles as he stands up, but other than that he looks fine.

"You sure?" I fuss. "Are you bleeding anywhere? Where'd she kick you? Do you have any bruises? She didn't break anything right?!

Sunohara laughs. "Seriously. You worry waaaay too much. I'm fine. Oh yeah, Okazaki told me to come to the Theater Club room. Said he wanted to introduce me to someone. Are you coming too?"

I blush. "Y-Yeah." Okazaki must have been talking about Kotomi.

"Do you want to go with me? We can walk there together." Sunohara says, looking away. Is he blushing? No way…I need to stop imagining things.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Yo, Sunohara, Rin!" Okazaki calls to us as we walk into the classroom. Kyou raises her eyebrows and smirks after seeing the two of us come in together.

Kyou's yelling at Okazaki, which is expected. "Listen! I was looking forward to karaoke or arcades or fast food restauraunts or stuff like that!"

"Aren't we being a bother by imposing on this many people?" Ryou says.

"No, I'm happy. It's rare for this room to be so lively." Nagisa replies.

Kotomi slowly stands up. "Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Kotomi Ichinose. A senior in Class A. My hobby is reading books. I would be happy if you would become my friends." She says.

Nagisa stands up next. "My name is Nagisa Furukawa. A senior in Class B. My hobby is acting. I would be happy if you would become my friends."

Next Ryou stands up. "My name is Ryou Fujibayashi. A senior in Class D. My hobby is fortune telling. I would be happy if you would become my friends."

Kyou stands up. "My name is Kyou Fujibayashi. A senior in Class E-" Tomoya cuts her off.

"My hobby is bullying weaklings." He says.

"I would be happy if you become my friends. Whose hobby did you say it was to pick on weaklings?!" She demands and kicks Tomoya over.

I giggle and stand up. "My name is Rin Kimura. A senior in Class D. My hobby is-"

"Picking on Sunohara." Sunohara interrupts. I blush.

"I-Is not! I would be happy if you become my friends!" I huff and glare at Sunohara.

"My name is Youhei Sunohara. A senior in Class D. My hobby is-"

"Being an idiot." I cough and look away. Everyone giggles.

"See?! All she does is pick on me!" Sunohara wails, and I laugh.

"It's too easy!" I say, and flick him on the forehead. He flicks me back.

Okazaki snaps. "Hey, with this number of people, you should be able to form a club, right?"

"Sorry, but me and Ryou don't have an interest in acting. Still, you have three people, so that should be enough. And Sunohara, weren't you going to join? I'm sure it would help Rin since she like you-" Kyou gasps and slaps a hand over her mouth, and suddenly the entire room is quiet.

Everyone stares at Kyou, then turns to stare at me.

"Wh-what are you t-talking a-about?" I stammer. My voice is shaking. _I'm _shaking.

"R-Rin…I'm so sorry…" Kyou murmurs.

I jolt up, my hands balled into fists. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" I sneak a glance at Sunohara and see him staring at me, shocked. Of course he would be shocked…He's probably upset some idiot like me likes a guy like him.

Before anyone can say anything, I bolt out of the room, tearing up. No, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! Sunohara wasn't supposed to know I like him! It was supposed to stay a secret, so we could still be friends.

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa shouts.

"Rin!" Okazaki yells.

"Riiinnn!" Kyou and Ryou call after me. Kotomi's standing in the doorframe, shocked.

Sunohara isn't there…

"No, no, no…" I mutter. I run even faster, when a voice calls my name.

"Rin-chan! Rin-chan! Rin!" I stop in my tracks. I've never heard Sunohara say my name without the honorific before. "Wait!"

I'm frozen for a bit until I realize Sunohara's chasing after me. "No, no, no, no!" I run faster than I've ever ran before in my entire life, dashing down the stairs.

"RIN!" Sunohara calls. No! He can't catch me! He can't catch up to me! Faster, faster, faster! I hear him call my name a last time before he stops chasing after me. I burst out of the school building, rushing down the path. I have to go home…far away from everyone…

Suddenly, I fall, and my knees scrape against the sidewalk. I bite my lip to stop from crying out, and continue to run home, ignorning my stinging knees.

Home, home, home.

"Rin-chan? Is that you? You're home early." My mom says. I ignore her, and run into my room, collapse on to the bed, and burst into tears.

Sunohara and me…is never going to happen…Never.

**Dun dun dun! **

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please, please review and tell me what you think! I would love to hear your opinions, ideas, and advice! It means so much when I get a review! So, review for a homemade lunch made by Kotomi!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much xxxCherry-Lotusxxx for your review! *hands you salmon sushi lunch made by Kotomi* I hope you enjoy this chapter~**

**And AlwaysTheTruth, I agree completely, I was in a hurry to get that bit done so I kind of forced the first ending. I hope you liked chapter 6 and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_How long have I been like this? An hour? A day? A week?_

But…I just can't go back. I can't face him after what happened…

_And Sunohara, weren't you going to join? I'm sure it would help Rin since she likes you._

I bury my face into my pillow, replaying the scene that started it all over and over again. I made the entire situation ten times worse by dashing out of there like an idiot. Now I just can't find the strength to face him at all. The look on his face…What did it mean? I've never seen a person look so surprised before…

"Riiiin! Your friends are here!" My mother calls from downstairs. I don't move or say anything, though. They've been coming by for a while now. Since I've been refusing to go to school, they keep showing up. But I haven't bothered to talk to them. They probably think I'm a freak…

"Rin, how much longer do you plan to sit and mope around here?" My mom asks. I don't answer, and keep my face buried in my pillow. "It isn't right for them to keep writing notes for you while you're out."

I still don't answer, and my mom sighs exasperatedly, leaving the pile of notes on the table next to my bed. After a while, I finally lift my head to examine the notes.

At the top of them, there's a long note that says things like

"Get well soon, we all miss you!" And everyone signed their name. Including Sunohara. I trace my finger over his name, biting my lip. What does he think of me now? It doesn't mention the "incident" that happened. Not even hinting about it. I replay all those moments we had together. Running into him, teasing him, playing footsie with him, dragging him to the nurses office, bandaging his hand, waiting on him at the Founders Festival, us together at the wedding, and then, Kyou revealing my secret, and me dashing out of the room.

"_Rin!_" The way he said my name made my heart skip a beat.

I can't go back…I can't…I _can't._ Not after embarrassing myself like that. Not after he found out what I'd been trying, but failing, to hide.

My heart is pounding, and I'm trying not to cry. What have I done?!

Suddenly my mom comes back into the room. "You've been gone from school for almost a week now. You're going back tomorrow, whether you like it or not. Go take a bath."

"B-But Mom…!" I whimper. But she's already left the room. Go back to school…go back to where they are. Where _he_ is. Can I really do that?

After I take my bath, I look back at the notes, and see a message from Kyou.

_I'm so sorry about everything that happened. But please come to school as soon as you can. There's something important you should know._

Something important I should know? What could it be?

I look around at the note, but it doesn't explain any further. Guess I'll be finding that out tomorrow…

I'm going to have to avoid Sunohara completely. How? We're in the same class…one way or another, he'll see me…I groan and collapse on my bed.

Tomorrow…tomorrow…it's all going to fall apart even more tomorrow…

_Sunohara-kun…I love you!_

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Wake up. It's time to go to school." My mom yells, pulling the blanket off of me. Dang it, here I thought I could sleep in and she wouldn't make me go.

I huff as she leaves the room. I'm shaking. My heart is pounding. I don't want to go…but at the same time, I do.

I stare blankly at myself in the mirror as I brush my hair, and brush my teeth. I pull my uniform on, and glance at my knee. It's scabbed over, and looks pretty bad. I put on a few band-aids, and flash back to the moment in the nurses office, when I was bandaging Sunohara's hand. I can't forget how _warm_, how _right_ his hand felt in mine.

"Sunohara-kun…" I say his name out loud and blush. But…I said I would avoid him today. I have to. I have to forget him…

I shake the entire way on my walk to school. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. _I'm sorry, Sunohara-kun…_

Thankfully, I don't run into anyone I know on my way to school. I'm almost tempted to lock myself in the bathroom.

_Ba-Bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump_

My heart feels like it's going to explode out of my chest. I'm slowing down as I start getting closer to our classroom. _Just go in the opposite direction, run as far away from here as you can._

But I know I can't run anymore. I take a deep breath, and realize I'm still shaking like a leaf. Can I possibly look any more stupid? I slowly step into the classroom, and as I expected, every single head turns to look at me. Including you-know-who's.

Ryou runs up to me.

"Rin-chan! I'm so glad you're okay! How are you feeling?" She asks. But I notice Sunohara staring at me, and my face is heating up already, and I'm shaking too hard to answer.

"I-I'm okay…" I squeak. I quickly turn away from him. Our eyes locked for a second…What was he thinking? Ryou gives me a hug, then goes to talk to Okazaki, who was apparently absent almost as much as I was. Sunohara walks over to me, and I back away, about to bolt from the room again when I force myself to stand still.

"You okay?" He asks softly.

"Y-yeah…" I reply, blushing. He opens his mouth to say something else, but ends up closing it and walks back to his seat. I notice the bandage is off his hand, so that must have healed up. I let out a sigh of relief and go over to sit in my seat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Sunohara sneaking continuous glances at me, but I pretend not to notice. He probably wants to talk to me about what I said, and how it just won't work out…

My heart doesn't stop pounding, not even a little. How am I going to avoid him completely? It hurts…I want to keep talking to him. But I know it's for the best.

At lunch time, I dash out of the room before anyone can try to talk to me, and end up hiding inside the bathroom. I don't even have much of an appetite, anyway…

Sunohara's blue eyes, the ones that can drag me right in, are what I see right when I close my eyes.

I can't escape him no matter what, huh? After lunch break is over, I slink back into class, avoiding everyone's eyes. Good. I've almost made it through the whole day avoiding Sunohara, excluding this morning.

Is this what I really want, though? For the rest of our time together, to be spent like this? Only exchanging a couple of words, and avoiding each other? Somewhere inside me, I know I don't want that…but it's better than being flat-out rejected right?

Is it really?

It's hurting…Not being around him. I want to talk to him…I can't! I can't! Or else I'll just keep falling in love with him, over and over again…

For the rest of the class, I catch not only Sunohara, but also Ryou and Okazaki sneaking glances at me. I don't look at any of them, though. Because they might think I'm a freak…after what happened.

The instant the bell rings, I try to dash out of class again. However, suddenly I'm grabbed. I whirl around, expecting it to be Sunohara, but am shocked when I see it's Kyou. She's grabbed Sunohara as well, and I blush and look away.

"Hold it, you two! Where do you think you're going?!" Kyou demands.

"Home." Sunohara and I say at the same time, and we quickly look at each other then look away. Kyou sighs exasperatedly.

"You two have some talking to do. And I'm not leaving until you start." Kyou says, letting the two of us go, and crossing her arms. "Don't even think about running away."

The three of us stand there in an awkward silence until Kyou starts tapping her foot and says, "Well?"

"Um…Sunohara-kun…" I stammer, and he looks at me. "J-Just forget about what Kyou said, okay? I-It doesn't matter…"

His eyes widen. "Really? Is what she said true?"

I blush even harder. "…Y-Y-Yeah…i-it's true…I-I'm sorry…"

We stand there for a bit in another awkward silence until Kyou nudges Sunohara. "Say it!" She whispers. I don't think I was supposed to hear.

"Do I have to?" Sunohara replies.

"YES!" Kyou shouts. "If you say it, I'll leave you two alone."

I notice that Sunohara's blushing hard, too. Why…? "You…like…_me_?" He stammers.

"…Y-yes…" I whimper.

"You mean you. Like. _Me?_" He repeats. Why does he seem so incredulous?

"Yes! Hey, if you're going to reject me, it's okay, I already know-"

And suddenly, everything comes crashing down around me.

Time stops.

Everything does.

I'm filled with a feeling like honey, slow and sweet.

What's going on!?

What's happening!?

Someone's arms are around me, holding me up. They're warm, and strong.

He's kissing me.

He's.

Kissing.

Me.

_Kissing._

Warm, warm, warm.

It feels like I'm on fire.

And it's over too fast, too soon, because Sunohara's arms slowly release me, and he pulls away.

"Sorry. I've wanted to do that for a long time…" Sunohara murmurs. "Was that too much? Do you want me to go?"

I didn't even realize I was frozen in place, gaping, and wasn't saying anything, and that Sunohara started to walk away. I'm forced back into the present.

"W-Wait! P-please wait!" I cry out and grab Sunohara's jacket. "I…I…l-liked it…" I'm blushing like crazy.

He blushes hard. "Y-You did? I-It wasn't too sudden?" Sunohara stammers.

I blush. "I-I did…And n-no it w-wasn't…does that mean…?"

Sunohara smirks his trademark smirk and laughs. "Yes, Rin-chan. I like you. Really, really like you."

"E-Eh? R-really!?" Why can't I see anything around us? Right now it's just me and him…

"U-Um…your hand! Y-You took the bandages off…is it doing any better?" I stammer.

"It's fine now. Thank you so much for everything." Sunohara says.

"Let me see…" I take his hand, and he's right. There's only a faint scratch there now. "You're right, it does look better. Few, you had me scared."

I'm still holding on to his hand. I'm about to pull it away, like I had done before, but this time I leave it. I interlace our fingers, and Sunohara watches me with wide eyes.

I lean in, slowly, when suddenly…

"Ahem!" Kyou coughs. I had completely forgotten she was there!

We instantly pull apart, blushing and laughing nervously.

"Th-Thank you Kyou-san!" I stammer.

She winks. "Least I could do for you, after spilling your secret. You guys are ridiculous! I think the whole school knew you were head-over-heels for each other, except for you two! Oh yeah, I gotta go pick up Ryou. See ya!" Before I can say anything else, she dashes down the hall.

The two of us are left standing there kind of awkwardly, until Sunohara nudges my foot with his. I glance at him, raise an eyebrow, and nudge him back. Nudge, nudge, nudge. The two of us do this back and forth for a while until finally, I step on his foot.

"Oww! Rin-chan!" He shouts, and holds his foot. I stare at him, and he stares back, until we both start laughing.

"Honestly, Sunohara-kun…" I giggle.

"Oh yeah, you can call me Youhei, if you want." He looks away shyly.

"Youhei-kun…Youhei-chan...Can I call you Youhei-chan?" I blush and shuffle my feet.

"Of course, Rin-chan~" He smiles, and extends his hand to me. "Can I walk you home?"

I blush harder and take his hand. "Hmm…I never knew an idiot could be a gentleman." I tease.

Youhei fakes a hurt look. "I never knew Rin-chan could be so mean! Wait, actually I did."

We continue teasing each other like this until we reach my house.

"See you, Rin-chan!" He waves to me as I walk to my house.

"Bye, Youhei-chan! Thanks for walking me home!" I wave back. After much contemplation, I run over to him and kiss his cheek, then dash back before he can say anything.

oOoOoOoOo

_Skip, skip! Skip, skip!_

"Good morning, Aiko-chan, Izumi-chan, Kotone-chan!"

_Skip, skip! Skip, skip!_

_Ha~ppi~ness!_

"Geez, Rin, you seem a lot happier than usual!" Kyou comments as she sees me bounce down the halls.

"You think so?" I blink.

She smirks. "This is all because of Sunohara, isn't it?"

I blush hard. "I-Is not!" She raises her eyebrows. "Y-Yes it is…I'm just…so…happy!"

"So are you two, like, a couple now?" Kyou asks. I tilt my head.

"Now that you think about it…I never asked what we were when he walked me home yesterday…" I murmur.

Are we dating? As in, actually a couple? As in _boyfriend_ and _girlfriend_?!

"K-Kyaaaaa!"

"H-Hey! What are you going all 'Kyaa' for? And wait…Sunohara walked you home!? I never knew he was that kind of person!" Kyou mutters.

Suddenly someone's arms wrap around me, and I jump up.

"Eeeeeep!" I shout and whirl around. "Y-Youhei-chan?!"

He laughs. "Good morning, Rin-chan~"

I relax, but my heart still races, and I'm blushing hard. Looks like that's going to stay the same…Kyou waves to let the two of us be alone together, and I blush around when I realize Youhei's arms are still around me. He realizes this too, and awkwardly lets me go. …I wanted us to stay like that.

"G-Good morning, Youhei-chan!" I smile. I practiced saying his name like this last night, since I knew I would probably still accidentally call him Sunohara. And I also loved calling him "Youhei-chan"…what?! "S-so, Kyou and I were just talking…um…a-are we…d-dating? Like, boyfriend-and-girlfriend?" I stammer and fiddle my fingers.

He wiggles his eyebrows at me. "Rin-chan! You're already trying to go that far?"

"N-No! I-I was, I was j-just…I'm so sorry!" I stammer and hide my blushing face.

Youhei laughs. Adorably. Wait, what? "Hey, I'm just teasing you!" He takes my hands and away from my face and holds them. "Is that okay? If we're a couple?"

I blush even harder and take one hand away and flick his forehead. "Geez, you idiot! Don't tease me!" I giggle and smile. "Th-that would be wonderful." He laughs and flicks mine back.

I squeeze the hand I'm still holding, and he squeezes mine back. Warm, warm, warm. His hand is warm. Whenever I'm around him, I feel warm. Eep! What am I saying?

oOoOoOoOo

**Rin: Kyaaaaa! What~just~happened?!**

**Youhei: You're dating the most incredible man on the planet, that's what!**

**Rin : *bonks him on the head* Don't be full of yourself, even if that is true! Wait, what?! *blushes***

**Youhei: Owww! *smirks* So you think it's true~**

**Rin: …Oh look, a flying starfish!**

**Youhei: Where?!**

**Kyahaha! Now that Rin and Youhei are dating, what will happen next? Will they be able to stay together?! Wait for the next update! **

**Please, please review! They mean so much to me! Review for a box of pocky, flavor of your choice!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, everyone! I won't be updating as fast anymore since summer's starting to come to a close, but don't worry! I'll definitely at least post a couple chapters per week.**

**Thank you so much AlwaysTheTruth for your review! I love getting them! *hands you pocky* I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I was so nervous writing that one! Thank you so, so, so much! XD I hope you like this chapter!**

**xxxCherry-Lotusxxx *hands you strawberry pocky* I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"Ow, ow, ow, Youhei-chan, what was that?" I whimper, stumbling into class, with a pounding headache after hearing an ear-splitting noise.

"Genius Girl was playing her violin." He mutters, pointing to where Kotomi is, smiling in a bit of a dazed way.

"That was a violin?!" I gasp. "I thought I was going to die!"

Youhei laughs and smiles at me.

"Wh-why are you smiling at me like that?" I stammer, blushing.

He shakes his head and blushes. "Nothing, nothing!" I raise my eyebrows and poke his cheek.

"Whatever you say, Youhei-chan!" I giggle. "Oh yeah, are you really going to join the Theater Club?"

Youhei shrugs. "I figured I'd join it, since my beloved Rin-chan is there~" He smirks.

"Y-You don't have to do something you don't like for me!" I stammer and blush. "Isn't there another club you'd rather join?"

He frowns. "No…No, there isn't…"

"Y-Youhei-chan? Are you okay?" I ask.

Youhei shakes his head and smiles. "Yeah, I'm fine. Besides…I can't wait to see you perform~But didn't you say you had stage fright?"

I blush even harder. "I-I'm only n-nervous if I'm performing in f-front of you…" I stammer.

He raises his eyebrows. "Oh, is that so?"

I huff and flick his forehead. "Y-Yes! It is!" Youhei laughs.

"I make you that nervous, huh?" He winks.

"D-Don't be so full of yourself!" I blush and flick his forehead.

"You're blushing~" Youhei smirks. This, of course, causes me to blush even harder, so I grab his jacket and bury my face into him. He jumps, startled, and then wraps his arms around me.

"Rin-chan…I-" He's cut off by Okazaki.

"Hey, you two get a room!" Okazaki shouts and we jump apart.

"I-It w-wasn't like t-that!" I stammer and shuffle my feet.

"Okazaki!" Youhei shouts, and chases after him. I giggle. Youhei's arms…they always make me feel so safe…I blush again and head over to my desk, trying to avoid Okazaki and Youhei.

oOoOoOoOo

"Oh, if it isn't Rin-chan." Kotomi greets as I step through the door. "Did I do that right?" She asks Kyou.

"That was…a little better." Kyou sighs. I giggle.

"Oh, if it isn't Sunohara-kun." Kotomi says to Youhei, who's holding my hand.

"Hi, Kotomi-chan!" I reply and smile.

"Oh, if it isn't Kotomi." Youhei says back.

"Nice to see you lovebirds joined us." Kyou comments as the two of us walk in. I blush and stare at the ground.

"Yep, we showed up. You got a problem with that?" Youhei smirks and Kyou rolls her eyes.

"Always looking for trouble. Since Rin's here, I'll try to be civil." She says.

I giggle and bow. "Thank you for putting up with my idiot boyfriend."

Youhei gasps. "Geez, mean as ever, Rin-chan!"

I laugh and poke him. "Well, it's true~But…" I blush and look shyly at him. "You're a cute idiot."

His eyes widen and he blushes and looks away. "Y-You think so?"

I blush harder and squeeze his hand. "Y-Yeah…"

Kyou rolls her eyes. "Save it for later, you two."

We walk in to the room and see that Nagisa, Ryou, and Kotomi have gathered around a box filled with little props, and I go and sit next to them.

"Nagisa-chan, what's this?" Kotomi asks. She's holding up what looks like a kind of fairy-ish wand.

"I think it's a magic wand." Nagisa replies.

"Magic wand?" Kotomi repeats.

"You say an incantation as you twirl it in the air, then transform with flying stars." Ryou explains, and I smile. I loved shows like that when I was younger. Kotomi stands up and holds the wand in the air.

"Tibi, magnum Innominandum, Signa stellarum nigrarum, Et bufaniformis Sadoquae sigillum." She chants. She keeps the wand in the air for a few more seconds.

"Looks like nothing happened." Ryou comments.

"Maybe I didn't enunciate it correctly…" Kotomi murmurs.

"But, you're amazing, Kotomi-chan! I want to be able to recite lines smoothly like you, too." Nagisa comments.

"I agree! That's really awesome!" I say, and look through the box more. There's a bunch of accessories, a toy sword, and a few more random decorations.

"Hmm..." I murmur and shift through the box. I giggle and toss the sword to Youhei.

"Eh? What's this for?" He asks and swings it around.

"I don't know, I thought it fitted you somehow." I laugh. He shrugs and swings it around more and I giggle.

"What's so funny?" Youhei asks.

"Nothing. You're adorable." I blush and fish around the box some more.

Youhei blushes. "S-So are you," He says, and I blush even harder.

Suddenly, there's an ear-splitting, window-shattering squeal-like noise that bursts through the entire room. "O-Owww, what the heck!?" I fall against Youhei.

"If you have to play, play somewhere else! If the reputation of the theater club drops, you'll cause the president trouble!" Kyou shouts at Kotomi.

"Um, I'm fine." Nagisa says.

"I want a lot of people to hear it after all." Kotomi murmurs.

"It's probably a good thing you feel that way, seeing as you used to hide in the library, but…" Okazaki trails off.

"Plus, I have to return this violin to the music room eventually." Kotomi says sadly. "So I want to play it as much as possible while I have the opportunity."

"Let's do something about it, Onee-chan," Ryou says to Kyou.

"Let's see…okay. Day after tomorrow, on Monday, we'll hold your violin recital." Kyou says.

"Recital?" Kotomi repeats.

"We'll gather more people for you on that day." Kyou replies, then she makes a scary face. "So you're prohibited from playing the violin here until then."

Kotomi doesn't seem to notice. "Recital…" She smiles warmly. "Okay. I'll go practice then."

"May I accompany you?" Nagisa asks and goes to follow Kotomi.

"I'll go, too." Ryou says and joins them. I turn to Youhei.

"Should we go with them, too?" I ask.

Youhei blushes and stares at the ground. "I-I was thinking we could have a d-date…" He stammers.

My eyes widen and I blush and stare at him. "A date? Th-that sounds a-awesome…" I stutter back and he stares at me back.

"R-Really?" Youhei gasps, and suddenly Kyou comes up and hits us both in the backs of our heads.

"Ow!" Youhei and I say in unison.

"Will you two just go on and get out of here already?!" She says, sighing. Youhei grabs my hand and stands up, and I giggle and squeeze his hand.

"Yes ma'am!" I say and wave to her and Okazaki.

"Where were you planning on going?" I ask as the two of us head out of school. The sky had faded to orange when we step out, and I know it won't be long for before night falls.

He laughs nervously. "I-I was thinking of taking you to the arcade…"

I blink. "The arcade?"

"Th-that's probably too mediocre…" Youhei says.

"No, that's perfect!" I say and hug him. "I think that's a wonderful idea!"

His eyes widen. "Y-you really think so? It's not too weird?"

I giggle and flick his forehead. "You're trying too hard. The arcade's perfect." I lean over and kiss his cheek and he blushes.

"You seriously are too adorable." I laugh and he blushes harder. Youhei takes me to the arcade in our town, and we mess around with some of the games for a while.

"Do you want to take pictures at the photo booth?" He asks me shyly.

I blush and smile. "Sure!" We head into the photo booth, and for the first couple of pictures we do silly poses and make stupid face, which is typical. The next one I kiss his cheek, and before I know it, the next picture, Youhei wraps his arms around me and kisses me.

"K-Kyaaaa?!" I squeal after he pulls away and smirks. We haven't kissed since that time in the hallway with Kyou.

"Heh. That should be a good picture. You looked so surprised~" Youhei laughs. I blush hard and hit him on the head.

"Y-You idiot!" I huff. "Did you…did you only do that for the sake of a picture?" I blush harder and stare at the ground.

He smirks again and grabs my chin. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't."

I stand up. "What's that supposed to mean?" I storm out of the photo booth.

"W-Wait, Rin-chan! Okay, I didn't. I wanted to kiss you again. And be able to save the moment." Youhei runs after to me and grabs my jacket.

I smirk and turn around. "Really?"

He blushes and looks away. "Y-Yeah…"

I giggle and hug him tightly. "Can you seriously get any more adorable? Wait, that reminds me! There's something I want to show you!"

He blushes even more as I say this and before he can reply, I grab our pictures and dash out of the arcade, holding tightly on to his hand, our fingers interlaced.

"Where are we going?" Youhei asks as we dash through the streets.

"You'll see!" I giggle. We run for a bit longer, until I finally reach the place I wanted to take him. It's a little playground, where there are cherry blossom trees surrounding the outside, and if you look up you can see the sky. Its night and the stars are shining brighter than ever. It seems like a dream, kind of, with the pink of the trees combined with the midnight blue of the night sky.

"What? Why are we at a playground?" He asks, panting.

"Look up." I smile. Youhei does as I say, and while he's looking up at the stars, I wrap my arms around him, tilt his face towards me, and kiss him. His eyes widen and then he closes them, and wraps his arms around me. There it is again…that feeling, warm, like honey, fills me. Around us, the pink cherry petals fall around, and the starts seem to shine even better. I close my eyes too, and it seems to last an eternity…but I don't ever want it to end.

When we do pull away, I'm blushing and trying to catch my breath. We're staring at each other, and I giggle and hug him tightly. "You have no clue how long I imagined doing that…" I blush harder and bury my face into him.

Youhei smirks and laughs. "I can say the same, Rin-chan~Now we can do it whenever we want." He blushes. "I-If you want t-that is…"

I giggle and poke his nose. "You're cute when you're embarrassed. Crap, what time is it? I gotta get home…"

"Pffft, so are you. Can I walk you home?" Youhei asks.

I blush and nod. "Y-Yes! Of course!" He laughs and links arms with me and I glance at his head.

"Hold still…" I giggle and take a cherry blossom petal of his head. "Why is it always a cherry blossom petal?"

"Hm? What do you mean always?"

"Do you remember that time I ran into you?" I ask.

"You've ran into me a lot of times." Youhei laughs.

I smile half-way. "Remember? I said I couldn't be late because Ryou-chan told me I could get in trouble."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Why didn't you wanna skip with me then~?"

"Hmph! I'm not a delinquent." I smirk and poke his cheek. He pokes mine back.

'"You gotta live life on the edge."

"Idiot." I roll my eyes and giggle. He makes his dramatic-hurt-face, and pulls away from me.

"Maybe I shouldn't walk you home, if I'm an idiot." Youhei says and raises his eyebrows.

"Eep! No, I take it back!" I wail and cling to his arm. "Pleeease stay with me~"

Youhei smirks and links our arms again. "Fine, if you insist."

"Yep, I insist." I reply and smile, and the two of us walk to my house. "Thanks so much for today!" I blush and hug him tightly. He hugs me back, and I kiss his cheek.

"Thank you for coming~" Youhei blushes and waves.

"Be careful on the way home, Youhei-chan! See you tomorrow!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Kotomi's concert, huh?" I ask as Nagisa shows me the poster she made. "Is that a good idea…?"

"Of course! She's improved a lot!" Nagisa insists, and I smile.

"Ok, then! Youhei-chan and I'll come~" I say, and wave.

"Wait, do we have to go?" Youhei asks as I turn away. I sigh.

"Of course! Kotomi-chan's our friend." I reply.

"But…remember what happened last time you heard her play?" Youhei asks.

I laugh. "Nagisa-chan said she improved, remember? I'm sure it'll be fine."

And that…was where I made my mistake…

"Youhei-chan! Youhei-chan! Please! Stay with me!" I cry, as Kotomi plays her ear-splitting violin "music." Looks like she knocked out most of the people in the audience, including Youhei. "Nooo! Youhei-chaaaan!"

"Someone! Make her stop playing!" I hear someone shout in the audience.

"Wait! Kotomi-chan! Don't be so nervous!" Nagisa calls to Kotomi. She seems to realize something isn't right.

"O-Oh, okay…" Kotomi murmurs, and starts playing again. This time, it doesn't send out those intense high-frequency waves. It's a lot better.

"Wow…so she can play the violin!" I smile. Wait…Youhei's still unconscious! "Youhei-chan…wake up! It isn't bad anymore…" Still, he doesn't wake up. I sigh and roll my eyes, then give him a quick kiss. Youhei immediately shoots right up.

"Rin-chan? Wh-what happened? All I remember is…wait! We're still at the concert!" He panicks, and I giggle.

"Listen. She sounds a lot better." I laugh. Youhei tilts his head.

"You're right…still, not my kind of thing." Youhei replies. I sigh and lay my head on his shoulder.

"…Idiot." I say affectionately.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Later that day, Nagisa, Okazaki, Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi, Youhei and I all walk home together.

"Geez, Youhei-chan I still can't believe you passed out because of that violin…" I giggle.

"Wha?! That violin…isn't even…normal! I bet it has some kind of weird powers that cause people to pass out with the high-frequency waves…" Youhei mutters.

I burst out laughing. "Really? Magical violin?"

"Well, that violin is some kind of weapon, at least!" Youhei says, his eyes wide. I smile and pat him on the head.

"Ok then, cutie." I say and roll my eyes.

"D-Don't be condescending!" Youhei whimpers, and I poke his cheek.

"Is that better?"

He's about to reply when suddenly Okazaki, Ryou, and Kyou dash past of us down to where Nagisa and Kotomi are. They're with a strange man in a black coat.

"What's going on?!" I ask and Youhei and I run after them. Nagisa throws herself at the man.

"Okazaki-san!" She shouts. Okazaki runs towards her and pushes the guy away from her.

"Kotomi-chan!" Ryou says and stands in front of her. She's cowering and whimpering, obviously afraid of whoever the man is.

"Rin-chan! Get behind me, now!" Youhei demands. Normally I wouldn't listen, but I do as he says. I've never seen him upset like this before. He spreads his arms out and stands in front of me. My eyes widen. He's…_protecting_ me.

"Youhei-chan…" I murmur. Okazaki stands in front of Ryou, Nagisa, and Kotomi, while Kyou goes up and stands in front of all of us.

"Who are you?!" Okazaki shouts.

"If you have something to say, I'll hear it instead." Kyou says to the man.

"Ah, well…I'll come back another day. Until then." The man says, then walks off. Youhei dashes after him, but I grab his sleeve.

"Don't, Youhei-chan! Please…I can't have you getting hurt…" I say and take his hand. He stares after the guy, then sighs.

"…Alright. Are you okay?" He asks me. I smile and kiss him.

"I'm fine. Thank you for protecting me…" I blush and look shyly at him, then turn to look at Kotomi. "We should probably be worrying about her…"

We walk over to where she's standing.

"Who was that?" Okazaki asks.

"He's…the bad guy. He's the bad guy." Kotomi stammers. She's still shaking, and I go over to her and hug her.

"It's okay, Kotomi-chan…you're okay now. The bad guy's gone…" I say softly. Kotomi whimpers and clings to me. I turn to look at everyone else.

"I'm going to stay and walk with Kotomi-chan. Anyone else wanna come?" I say. Youhei walks over to me.

"There's no way you're going anywhere without me." Youhei says and smiles, putting an arm around my shoulders.

I blush and smile gratefully. The three of us part ways with everyone else and walk Kotomi home.

"Seriously…who was that?" I whisper to Youhei. We tried talking to Kotomi about it, but she refused to answer.

Youhei's arm tightens around me, and he glances at me. "I don't know, but if he hurts you, I swear…"

I laugh. "It's okay. I'm fine. He was only after Kotomi, right?" Youhei nods, but doesn't seem so sure. "Seriously, Youhei-chan. Don't worry about me."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Please, please review and tell me what you think! I'd love to hear your opinions and ideas! Review for a ticket to Kotomi's next recital XD**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much AlwaysTheTruth for your review! They brighten my day! :D And thanks so much for your advice! I hope you enjoy this chapter! *hands you ticket to Kotomi's recital***

_Skip, skip, skip!_

"Good morning, Hotaru-chan, Emiko-chan, Nori-chan!"

_Skip, skip, skip!_

"What did Sunohara do to you now?" Kyou groans as I bounce around the halls once more.

I sigh happily. "Hehehe! He took me out on a date~"

"That idiot took you out on a date? What did he do, take you to an _arcade_?" Kyou says, rolling her eyes.

"W-well, yes! But if was really fun! And afterwards we…we…kyaaaa!" I blush and squeal.

"I knew it. And you're 'kyaaa'-ing again. Did he kiss you or something?"

"Kyou-san! Are you a mind-reader?!" I exclaim and stare at her with wide eyes.

"Pfffft. Maybe. But both you and Sunohara are pretty easy to figure out." She replies and laughs. "Seriously though, I think you're head-over-heels in love with him. I've never seen you this happy."

"Really?" I tilt my head and blink, then I wave goodbye to Kyou and skip down the halls, my heart fluttering my chest, only one thing on my mind: Youhei-chan! She's right…I really am crazily in love with him! But…what if it's different for him? What if I'm just a plain old, normal crush to him, nothing more? I really do worry too much, huh…

While I'm thinking about this, someone wraps their arms around me.

"Eep! Youhei-chan?" I ask.

"You got me." He laughs. "What's wrong? You were just spacing out."

"I was just thinking…Youhei-chan…Mmm, never mind. It's nothing." I smile and put my hands over his.

"You sure?" Youhei asks.

"Yeah…" I murmur. I close my eyes. I just want to stay like that forever, but of course, the bell rings and I jump. "W-We have to get going to class! Oh yeah, that reminds me. You've been coming to school a lot more than you used to. Why's that?"

Youhei laughs and takes my hand. "Because I want to see you, of course!"

I blush hard. "Y-You mean you're coming j-just to see me?" I stammer.

"Yep. Why else would I be coming?" He smirks and the two of us walk to class together.

"Geez…you idiot…" I laugh.

"Hey! I could just stay home all the time and not ever come to see you."

"Eep! Noooo!" I wail and cling to him. "I'm just saying…You still have to come to school for an education and everything."

He rolls his eyes. "Mm, I don't knooow…"

I sigh and poke him. "You're helpless…"

When we head to the club room later that day, Kyou is once again lecturing Kotomi about her jabs.

"Naïve! You're too naïve!" Kyou shouts. "A world made up of only jabbers means there is no one to play the dumb role. So there'd only be jabbers in bowties from here to the end of the horizon. Try missing a line or making a ridiculous comment in that situation! What would you think would happen?"

"What would happen?" Kotomi repeats.

"What the heck?! Are you an idiot?! That's enough out of you! I've had enough from you! What in the world?!" Kyou shouts dramatically. "You'd get slapped with one after another. It'd be a really, really harsh world."

"Jabs are very scary." Kotomi says.

"Anyway, it's impossible for you to go into the comedy world even if you were reborn a million times." Kyou huffs.

"O-Onee-chan, I think you're being too harsh…" Ryou says and stands in front of Kotomi.

"Yes! If we all work together, I'm sure-" Nagisa's cut off by Kyou.

"It's worthless even if you three work together. Zero is always zero no matter how many of them are brought together." Kyou says.

"Sheesh. Kyou's scary." I whimper and cling to him.

"I know, right?!" Youhei says and wraps an arm around me.

"What…was that?" Kyou growls and stomps over to us.

"E-Eep! N-Nothing!" I wail. She glances at me and Youhei, then turns over to continue to lecture Nagisa, Ryou and Kotomi.

"Then I'll resort to my last trick! I'll show you an amazing joke!" Kotomi declares.

"I hope it's not something really old again..." Kyou mutters.

"It's something I just learned from TV the other day." Kotomi explains and stands up and walks past Kyou. "It's really new."

"This should be interesting." Youhei mutters and I flick his forehead.

"Here I go." Kotomi says. Everyone in the room turns to stare at her. She points to her elbow. "It bends here." Her face turns bright red and she covers her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

"That's a joke?" Kyou asks.

"Don't ask me." Okazaki reply.

"I don't get it…" I murmur.

"They come off." Kotomi says, then bends over, covering her mouth again.

"It's supposed to be a joke, right?!" Kyou demands.

"Don't cry." Okazaki replies.

"I'm so confused…" I whisper.

"We all are." Youhei replies, and I giggle.

Next, Kotomi sets down a blanket and brings out a bunch of bentos, and opens them up. "I made this for everyone."

"You sure made a lot!" Okazaki exclaims.

"I wanted everyone to enjoy some." Kotomi replies.

"Thank you so much, Kotomi-chan!" I smile.

"You're welcome. I enjoyed making it." Kotomi says shyly.

"Kotomi-chan, what do you usually do when there's no school?" Ryou asks her.

"I'm usually reading books." Kotomi answers.

"I usually waste time at Sunohara's place." Okazaki says. _Lucky_ I think to myself, then cover my mouth before I said it out loud.

"I'm usually with Okazaki or Rin-chan." Youhei says, and he winks at me.

"A-And I usually hang out with Youhei-chan, or stay at home." I say.

"I think I'm usually at home, too." Nagisa says.

"You guys are pathetic! The youngsters in the midst of youth are all wasting their time and bodies." Kyou sighs.

"So you have stuff to do?" Okazaki asks. I eat some of the bento Kotomi made. It's delicious.

"No, I don't." Kyou replies.

"I figured." Okazaki mutters.

"But I just made a plan. Everyone. Meet at the station at nine tomorrow! Group dating! Group outing! This is what innocent youngsters should be doing."

I turn to Youhei. "Are you going to be busy then?"

"Nope. Even if I was, I would still make time for my Rin-chan~" Youhei smirks and pokes my nose. I poke his nose back.

"Hey! You guys! This is going to be a group outing, so it's not just you two!" Kyou shouts at us.

"Yes ma'am." I salute, and everyone laughs, including Kyou.

"So. Everyone, be there at nine!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I glance at myself nervously in the mirror. This will be the first time Youhei will see me wearing something other than my school uniform, excluding that time at the wedding, when I had worn a dress…oh yeah, and when I was wearing the maid uniform. So third time? Technically? Oh well, I'm still nervous.

I dash out of the house and run to the train station, my heart pounding.

"Rin-chaaaan~!" A voice calls. I whirl around and smile. Youhei's running after me.

"Youhei-chan!" I call and wave. He catches up to me and looks at me.

"You look cute~" He smirks and I turn the shade of a tomato.

"S-so do y-you…" I say softly, and he blushes as well and takes my hand, interlacing our fingers together.

"L-Let's get going!" Youhei says and we head to the train station.

"So you two made it without making out, huh?" Kyou teases.

We both blush hard. "W-w-we d-don't m-make o-out!" I stammer.

"W-well, not yet at l-least." Youhei teases and I bury my face into him.

"Idiot!" I wail.

Kyou laughs and turns to everyone else. "Shall we get going?"

"Where are we going first?" I ask as the seven of us start walking. Kyou shrugs.

"I figured we'd check whatever was interesting." Kyou replies. There are tons of booths and stands out, so it looks like we'll be busy for a while. The first place we stop at is a booth with different jewelry.

Youhei and Okazaki hang back as Kotomi, Nagisa, Ryou, Kyou and I take a look at the different things they have laid out.

Kyou holds up a pair of earrings. "Hmm…I wonder how much these cost…" She murmurs.

I look at various bracelets and necklaces they have out.

"WHAT?! It's that expensive! Are you kidding me?! We're out of here!" Kyou shouts to the person who's running the booth, and before we can argue she drags us to another stand.

This one sells various books.

"Hmm hmm! I wonder if they have that new manga I wanted here? Kyaaaa! They have it!" I gasp and grab the first copy. "Kyaaan! The drawings are so nice!"

Kyou had to drag me away from the stand.

"Awww I was almost finiiished!" I whine as she pulls me away.

"Come on. You can read it another time." She huffs. Youhei laughs at me.

"Wh-what?!" I say and look around me.

"Nothing." He smiles. "You're just cute."

I blush super hard. "Wh-what was that for?!" I wail, and bury my face into him. He laughs again, a sound that makes my heart skip a beat, and he puts his arm around me.

Next, we stop at a restaurant to get food.

"Ta-dah!" Kyou comes to sit down and puts a box on the table. She takes the top off, and inside the box are various sandwiches, eggs, tomatoes, and chicken nuggets. Everyone looks away. "Eat up, everyone!"

"This is…an odd combination, isn't it?" Ryou murmurs.

"So? Let's eat anyway!" She glances at us and grabs a sandwich. "It's really good!"

I blink and grab a sandwich myself. "Hmm…it is good." I'm about to take another bite, when something suddenly hits my head.

"Eep!" I jump and turn around, then look at the ground. There's a tomato.

"Ahahaha! You should've seen your face!" Youhei laughs, and I huff, and grab a tomato, then toss it at him.

"Hey!" Youhei gasps, then smirks and throws it back at me.

"Kyaaa!" I laugh and dodge it, then grab another tomato and throw it at him. He dodges it too, and is about to throw another one back at me when Kyou grabs his hand.

"Quit wasting food!" She shouts and glares at the two of us.

"…Sorry." I say, trying to hold in my laughter.

"I'm so very terribly sorry." Youhei replies dramatically, stands up and then bows.

"Pffffft!" I snort, and cover my mouth. Kyou sighs and rolls her eyes.

I'm about to take a bite of the sandwich again, when I feel something nudge my foot. Youhei's staring at me, and when I look at him he raises his eyebrow. I bite my lip to keep from giggling, and then kick his foot back.

_Nudge, nudge! Kick, kick!_

We keep doing this back and forth, until I burst out laughing. Everyone turns to stare at me. Youhei starts laughing when I do, until we're both out of breath from laughing so hard.

"You two are acting like grade-schoolers!" Kyou mutters and starts laughing. Soon, everyone at the table is laughing, including Kotomi.

Next stop is the "Game Land" arcade which is nearby. Kyou drags all of us to one of those claw-prize-machine things.

"Everyone, wait here. I got this." She says, flipping her hair behind her.

And that's how we spend the next half an hour, and how we lose most of our money.

"It's impossible." Okazaki mutters after Kyou fails once more to get the giant stuffed anteater, well at least that's what I think it is. Kyou slams her palms against the glass.

"It won't budge at all again!" She yells. "Hey staff! The placement of this prize is wrong! No one can ever get it if it's like this!"

"Again?" An employee asks.

"That doll is really big." Ryou says to Nagisa. It is huge. "Is it all right to make it bigger than the actual animal?"

"Kyou-san, even if you do get it, how will you carry it home?" I ask.

"I don't know! I'll figure it out when I get it!" Kyou replies.

"There you go." The employee says, shutting the glass around it.

"Thank you!" Kyou smiles. "Here's my thirty-fourth try."

"Just so you know, this is your last round. I'm completely broke." Okazaki says to her. She whirls around.

"You're up next, Ryou!" Kyou says, pointing to her sister.

"I-I don't have the confidence at all…" She says softly. "I failed last time too."

"In that case, the President!"

"Me, too. I feel like I would put Okazaki-san's money to waste." Nagisa says.

"Rin!" She looks at me.

"Me too. It's impossible, not to mention it's kind of a waste…" I murmur.

"Sunohara!"

"Nope. Sorry."

"You worthless bunch!" Kyou cries. "Isn't there anyone confident enough to declare that they can get it?!"

Suddenly, a girl appears before us. She's oddly familiar.

"Who are you?"

"Fuko saw you were in trouble, so Fuko ran here, wishing to be of aid." The girl replies. "Leave everything to Fuko."

"Excuse me, we've met before, haven't we?" Nagisa asks. So she feels the same way about her…why is she so familiar? I could swear I've never met her before…Have I?

"You don't have to remember now. The day we will naturally reunite will come." The girl, Fuko, says mysteriously.

"Can you really get it?!" Okazaki gasps.

"Fuko is a master at this game, so much that neighbors say that no one can compare to Fuko when it comes to manipulating cranes." She replies.

"What kind of neighbors do you have?!" Okazaki exclaims, and I giggle, watching the oddly-familiar girl. "I feel like I've had this conversation before…" He trails off. "The target is that big thing. You got it?"

"Here goes Fuko!" Fuko says, and moves the crane. Everyone gasps, and my eyes widen. Is she going to get it?!

…Apparently not. The crane machine picks up a stuffed star toy, and drop it into the slot. She bends down to pick it up.

"The shape attracted Fuko and made Fuko's hand move unconsciously." Fuko says, clutching the star.

"Just so you know, that's a star, not a starfish." Okazaki says to her.

"Fuko couldn't be of help this time, but Fuko wants to come again to help another time. Until then!" She says, then runs off.

"What was that about? Why did I say starfish?" Okazaki mutters. After that strange encounter, we all go to get ice cream.

"Kyaaa! This is so refreshing!" I sigh and lick the vanilla ice cream. "I'm exhausted…" I turn to glance at Youhei, then smirk. I poke some of the ice cream on his cheek, and he jumps.

"Eek!" He jumps and looks around and glares at me.

"You've got something on your cheek." I giggle. Youhei rubs his cheek, but he misses where the ice cream is.

"Did I get it?" He asks.

"No."I laugh, then blush and bite my lip, then lean over and kiss his cheek. "Got it."

Youhei stares at me then laughs and raises his eyebrow. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

I shrug and smile. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't."

He glances at me then kisses my cheek. "You had something too." He smirks.

"WILL YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING!?" Kyou shouts at us, and we both jump.

"Sir, yes sir!" Youhei salutes. I burst out laughing, and cover my mouth, trying not to snort.

"You seriously are such an idiot." I sigh and put my head on his shoulder.

"So I've been told~" Youhei wraps his arm around my waist. "You're really mean."

"So I've been told." I repeat, and laugh. By this time, the sky had turned dark blue, stars beginning to come out and shine. Street lights illuminate our path.

"Our home's this way." Ryou says, waving to us.

"Nagisa-chan, Kyou-chan, Ryou-chan, see you tomorrow." Kotomi waves.

"See you tomorrow!" I smile and wave.

"Yes, good night!" Ryou says.

"Bye bye!" Kyou grins.

"We'll be heading this way." I say to Kotomi and Okazaki.

"Rin-chan, Youhei-kun, see you tomorrow." Kotomi says.

"Bye, Kotomi-chan, Okazaki-kun! See you tomorrow!" I wave, along with Youhei.

"Today was pretty crazy, huh?" Youhei glances at me and smiles.

"You were such a child!" I huff, and laugh.

"You should talk!" He replies, flicking my forehead.

"I have no clue what you're talking about!" I smirk, and nudge his foot.

"You wanna start this again?" Youhei laughs and pokes me back.

"I could do this all night, Youhei-chan~" I giggle. We walk like that the rest of the way home, and when we reach my house, I hug him tightly. "Thank you so much for walking me home. You really are quite the gentleman, huh?" We lock eyes, and I lean in and kiss him. "G-Good night, Youhei-chan." I blush, and he smiles and hugs me back.

"Good night, Rin-chan~"

"Be careful on the way home!" I wave, and he rolls his eyes.

"Got it, Mom." He teases and waves back to me, walking away. I sigh, holding my hands to my chest, heart racing. Why is it, when I'm with him I feel so warm? I'm still blushing as I rush inside, and flop on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!" I squeal and roll around on my bed. "Youhei-chan, Youhei-chan, Youhei-chan!" I murmur his name over and over.

I suddenly remember what Kyou said.

_Seriously though, I think you're head-over-heels in love with him._

I bury my face into my pillow. I really love him…I just hope we can stay together…

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so, so much for reading! **

**I'd appreciate it so much if you reviewed your opinion on this chapter! I love getting reviews! I'd love to hear your opinions and ideas! So, please, review for vanilla ice cream! Or chocolate, depending on your preferences.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Eep! I can't believe we're on the tenth chapter already! Thank you all so much for reading this far! I hope you all have enjoyed the story! **

**I just love Decretum and Conturbatio from the PMMM OST I could just listen to them for hours ;-;**

**Also, every time I write a chapter I listen to the Nagi no Asukara OST. So…hooray for beautiful anime OSTs! Eep, sorry for the blabbering! ^^;**

**Thank you so much AlwaysTheTruth for your review, and your continued support! *hands you ice cream* I really can't thank you enough!**

It's a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the sky is cloudless and blue, and the birds are singing. It's so peaceful…of course, this feeling gets interrupted almost at once.

Youhei and I had just joined up with Kyou, Kotomi, and Okazaki on our way to school when Nagisa suddenly comes running up to us, panting, completely out of breath, with a terrified look in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Nagisa?" Okazaki asks as she slows down, trying to catch her breath.

"Kyou-chan! Ryou-chan comes to school by bus, right?" Nagisa asks.

"Yeah, she does. So?" Kyou tilts her head.

"She always gets on the bus around this time, right?" Nagisa pants.

"So why are you in such a panic?" Kyou asks. Nagisa's behavior is really starting to worry me.

"There was a bus accident at the intersection below, and there was a crowd of people. It looked like a big accident. Maybe Ryou-chan got…" Nagisa trails off. Kyou gasps, her eyes widening.

"No! It can't be!" Kyou shouts. "If anything were to happen to Ryou, there's no way I wouldn't know!" Without another word, Kyou dashes off. An accident?! Nagisa thinks Ryou got into an accident?!

"Kyou!" Okazaki shouts, and runs after her.

"Let's go, Rin-chan!" Youhei turns to me, grabs my hand, and dashes after the three of them. I turn back to look at Kotomi. She's trembling a little.

"Are you coming?" I ask her. She nods, and runs after us. We run down the street, fast as possible, and I let out a gasp of horror when I see the accident. The bus is completely flipped over, the windows shattered, along with a car next to it.

"No…" I whisper, and Youhei wraps a protective arm around me. Kyou's staring at the accident, her eyes wide, her hands covering her mouth.

"Ryou!" Kyou screams, and is about to run towards the accident when a voice calls out, "Onee-chan?"

It's Ryou!

"Ryou-chan!" Nagisa shouts. We all run over to her.

"Fujibayashi! You were safe?!" Okazaki stares at her.

"You weren't on that bus?!" Kyou demands.

"I-I was on the bus right after that one…" Ryou replies. "The road got jammed so I fell behind schedule. The bus was on its way back to the depot, so no one was on it. Both the bus driver and the other driver are fine. See?" She motions to where both the bus driver and the other driver are having a heated argument, being held back by police.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Phew!" I bury my face into Youhei. "I'm so glad…"

"Thank goodness no one was hurt." Nagisa says. Kyou sighs, relieved, and throws her arms around Ryou.

"O-Onee-chan!" Ryou says, blushing.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Ryou-chan!" I say, turning to look at her.

"I'm sorry for making things dramatic." Nagisa says.

"It's good to know it was nothing." Okazaki says.

"I was terrified for a minute." I say, laughing weakly.

"People are so careless these days…" Youhei sighs and I laugh.

"You should talk." I smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He huffs.

"Just the other day you forgot your homework for every class!" I giggle. Youhei's about to respond, when suddenly Kotomi drops her bag, everything spilling out. Everyone turns to look at her.

"Are you okay?" Okazaki asks her.

"Kotomi-chan. Ryou-chan's fine. Kotomi-chan?" Nagisa says. Kotomi is opening and closing her mouth repeatedly, but not saying anything. She's staring blankly at the accident, the flipped over bus. She suddenly falls to her knees, and we all stare at her.

"Kotomi-chan?!" I exclaim, and run over to her. "What's wrong?!"

"Kotomi-chan?" Nagisa asks. Kotomi doesn't reply to either of us. In fact, she doesn't even acknowledge us. It's like she isn't even aware we're here.

"U-uwah..." Kotomi whimpers. Her eyes fill with tears, and she's shaking hard. She puts her hands over her head. "AAAAAHHHHHHH! AHHHH!" She shrieks. I widen my eyes, and gasp. Kotomi falls to the ground, crying loudly.

"Kotomi-chan!? Kotomi-chan!? Kotomi-chan, answer me!" I gasp, kneeling down by her. "What's wrong?!" Seeing her like this is causing me to tear up. "Kotomi!" She continues to cry, curling herself into a ball.

Nagisa, Ryou, Kyou, Okazaki and Youhei all run over to join me.

"Kotomi-chan!" Nagisa shouts.

"Kotomi! What's wrong!?" Kyou yells. She still doesn't answer, wailing and crying.

"Kotomi! Kotomi!" Okazaki shouts at her.

"Kotomi!" Youhei kneels beside me, waving his hand in front of her face.

"I'll be a good girl…I'll be a good girl, so…" I can hear her whimper. My eyes widen.

"Kotomi-chan! Kotomi-chan, pull yourself together!" Nagisa says. "Hopital! Ambulence! Actually, the nurses office!"

Youhei and Okazaki both carry Kotomi to the nurses office, while the rest of us try to calm Kotomi, but still, she doesn't seem aware of what's going on. Kyou, Ryou, and Nagisa help them bring her in, and try to tell the nurse what happened, while Youhei, Okazaki leave the room and wait outside with me.

"Left early?" Okazaki asks as Kyou explains what happened.

"Yeah. She left halfway through first period. Alone." Kyou explains.

"That's what the school nurse said." Nagisa tells us.

"Looks like she was going through something serious." Okazaki mutters.

"She seemed to be having a breakdown of some sort…" I murmur, biting my lip. "That's what it looked like."

"A breakdown?" Youhei looks at me.

"Yeah…But I can't figure out why. Maybe she was so shocked it triggered it? Or perhaps she was so worried for Ryou-chan?"

"Is it all right to let her go home alone?" Okazaki asks.

"We asked the same question." Nagisa replies.

"She said it's related to Ichinose-san's privacy, so she couldn't share anything more." Ryou explains.

"Privacy?" Okazaki repeats.

"Then that means something's definitely up." I say. "Poor Kotomi-chan…"

"Let's go to the teacher's lounge." Kyou suggests. "Her homeroom teacher should know something."

"She came to me saying that she wasn't feeling well, so she wanted to go home alone." Her teacher says after we walk together to the teacher's lounge.

"What happened to Ichinose-san?" Kyou asks. "What is this privacy deal about?"

"It's called privacy because we can't tell you about it." The teacher replies haughtily.

"Will Kotomi…Ichinose-san be okay?" I ask her.

She glances at us. "She should be fine. Anyway, you'll have to wait until Ichinose-san shares the story with you."

"Would it be all right for us to go visit her house?" Okazaki asks.

"I feel it's best to leave her alone right now…" The teacher says, then smiles. "But sure. Let me write down the address for you." That was a bit controversial. "Don't try to force her to meet you, okay?" She hands Okazaki a slip of paper. After that, we meet in a classroom with Nagisa and Ryou.

"Kotomi-chan thought I got hurt, so she fell into a state of shock…" Ryou says.

"It's my fault! If I hadn't said there was an accident…" Nagisa trails off.

"Neither of you are at fault!" Okazaki says. "Don't worry about it."

"I agree with Okazaki. It wasn't any of our faults. If anything, it was those two people who caused the accident, since that seemed to be the cause of what triggered her." I say. "So don't blame yourselves."

"Are you sure?" Nagisa asks.

I smile. "Of course. For now, we should be worrying about how we can help Kotomi-chan…" I say.

After school lets out, Nagisa, Ryou, Kyou, Okazaki, Youhei and I all go to visit Kotomi.

"Youhei-chan, you sure you're not busy?" I ask as we walk together.

"Of course. Stop asking me that." Youhei laughs, keeping his arm around me.

"Is she not home?" Kyou asks, after we knock on the door for the fifth time.

"Maybe she's asleep." Nagisa suggests.

"How about we call it a day and come back tomorrow?" Kyou says.

"That's a good idea. We should probably let Kotomi rest, anyways." I reply. So we end up walking home. Okazaki says he has something to do, and Youhei and I part ways with Ryou, Kyou, and Nagisa, so then it's just the two of us.

"Today was terrifying…" I say softly.

"Yeah. It was. But…I'm glad it wasn't you." Youhei looks sideways at me. "If you had gotten hurt…that would've been worse than anyone else…"

I blush hard. "Th-that can't be true!" I stammer, and cling to him. "Although…I feel the same way." Suddenly I start to tear up.

"W-Whoa, Rin-chan? What's wrong?! Did I say something bad?!" Youhei exclaims.

I laugh weakly. "No, of course not! I doubt you could ever say something bad. I'm just being weird…Hey, promise me you'll try not to get hurt, okay?" I say, staring at him.

He laughs. "I'll try, but didn't you say it yourself? I'm a magnet for getting hurt?" Youhei pokes my forehead.

I sigh. "You know what I mean. Besides…I'll protect you from getting hurt from Tomoyo…" I giggle.

"You still think I can't beat her?!" He says, giving me a hurt look. "I think she's some kind of super-human…That kind of strength isn't human…"

I roll my eyes and rest my head on his shoulder. "Whatever~" The sky looks like it's on fire. Suddenly I gasp loudly, and jump away from Youhei.

"What is it?!" Youhei stares at me with wide eyes.

"You-chan! That's my nickname for you!" I say, smiling.

"That's it?" He asks me.

I huff. "You don't like it?"

"No, that's not it. I like it…" Youhei smiles. "You almost gave me a heart-attack, though."

"I'm sowwwyyy~~~" I say, and cling to his arm. He ruffles my hair, and I blush. Suddenly I feel something poke me in the side, and I jump and squeal.

"You-chan?!" I glare at him, and he laughs.

"So you're ticklish." Youhei raises his eyebrows.

"I-I am not!" I huff, and look away. "Eep!" He pokes my side again.

"Idiot!" I laugh and poke him back.

"You just can't keep yourself off of me, huh, Rin-chan?" Youhei smirks.

"Wh-what the heck? You were the one who started it, this time!" I cross my arms.

"You get angry so easily~" Youhei says, wrapping his arms around my waist and putting his chin on my shoulder.

"W-Well, I only get angry at idiots." I reply, keeping my arms crossed.

"Rin-chan, why are you so meeeaaannn~?" Youhei wails, burying his face into my neck, and I jump slightly and blush harder.

I sigh. "You really are helpless, aren't you?"

He blinks. "Around you, maybe~"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I blush even harder and groan. He manages to make me an embarrassed idiot every time.

Youhei laughs. "Nothing~Can I walk you home?"

"Of course. Idiot." I reply.

_Please don't ever leave my side._

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, Nagisa comes over to tell Youhei, Kyou and Ryou what Okazaki had found out about Kotomi's tragic past.

My eyes widen as she tells us. "That's…horrible…"

"Kotomi's really…suffered a lot, huh…" Kyou murmurs. "We should do whatever we can."

"I know! Her birthday's coming up, right? Why don't we do something special for her?" Ryou says.

"That's a great idea!" Kyou replies. "Rin, Sunohara, what do you think?"

"That sounds good. Rin-chan?" Youhei turns to me. But I'm not listening. "Rin-chan?"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, sorry. Yeah, that's perfect!" I smile. Youhei gives me a questioning look, but I just shake my head.

"Nagisa said Okazaki's at Kotomi's place, right? Let's stop there later and talk to him." Kyou suggests. We all nod. After class ends, Youhei takes me out into the hall.

"Rin-chan, what's wrong? You've been acting weird since yesterday." He says.

I stare at him. "You-chan…What happened to Kotomi-chan…it scared me. It reminded me…how quickly you can lose things. How quickly you can lose _someone_. I know I'm just worrying too much…I shouldn't be overthinking things. But…I just can't stand the fact that I could lose you someday…any day. I know we haven't been dating that long, so I guess I sound kind of creepy…I'm sorry." I laugh weakly and wipe my eyes.

Youhei's staring at me, and I look around me. "Wh-what is it?" I say. "I-I was being too creepy, I knew it…" I'm about to walk away, when Youhei grabs my arm, and pulls me into him, putting a hand on my back, and my eyes widen as he leans in and kisses me, that gentle feeling replacing my anxiety. He pulls away and smirks adorably.

"You really can be pretty emotional, huh?" Youhei says, pulling me into a hug. "I'm not going anywhere, Rin-chan…I'll always be right here."

My eyes widen and I'm tearing up again. He's right…I really can be emotional. Too emotional…I bury my face into him before I start crying, and hug him back. "Thank you, You-chan" I whisper. Suddenly something jabs into my side and I jump up and squeal. Youhei bursts out laughing.

"You're too easy~" He teases and I cross my arm.

"Hmph! I knew an idiot like you can never be serious!" I say, smirking at him and watching him out of the corner of my eye.

"Well, I was wrong to think a mean person like you could have emotions." Youhei rolls his eyes and flicks my forehead, then runs off before I can do it back.

"Y-You-chan!" I huff, and dash after him. He laughs and slows down and I poke his side. "Geez!"

"Rin-chan? Sunohara-san?" Nagisa calls after me, seeing me with Youhei. She's with Ryou and Kyou.

"Hi, Nagisa-chan!" I smile and wave. "Did you talk to Okazaki-kun?"

"Yes! He found out about the birthday party. He was working hard on clearing Kotomi's backyard…He's really kind isn't he?" Nagisa says, then blushes as she says this. "We were about to go tell Okazaki about our present for Kotomi."

"Wherever Rin goes, I go." Youhei replies, with a dreamy look on his face.

"You two have been acting like total love-struck idiots ever since you started dating…" Kyou mutters, rolling her eyes. "I never knew a person could be that happy. Anyways, shall we get going?"

I blush as she says this. I know that I've been a lot happier than before…but Youhei, too? I-I make him happy? Since we started dating, he's shown me a gentler, sweeter side I never would have guessed he had. I've felt things I've never felt before. My heart pounds just thinking about him. And wow do I sound cheesy…

I glance at Youhei and notice that he's blushing too, and I smile and take his hand. "Let's go, You-chan~" He squeezes my hand and nods, still blushing, and I giggle.

After a bit of trouble on our way out, we find Okazaki at a restaurant.

"What are you doing, loitering around here?" Kyou asks as we reach him.

"Shopping." Okazaki replies.

"You're wealthier than I thought." Kyou says, noticing the bags around him.

"I saved up money hoping to get out of my house one day. What are you guys doing?" He asks.

Nagisa pulls out the violin we were planning to give to Kotomi. However, on our way here, we had crashed into a guy on a motorcycle, and the violin got ruined.

"We wanted to give the violin to her as a present…" Ryou explains. "We contacted the senpai who left the violin behind, and officially received ownership."

"After talking to Nishina-san, she said it should get properly tuned, so we were on our way with it to an instrument shop." Nagisa tells him.

"Let me tell you, it was 100% the biker's fault. If I'd had a metal pipe in my hand, I would have smacked him along with his bike." Kyou growls, clenching her fists.

"I totally could have roughed him up, too." Youhei smirks, puffing out his chest. I hit him on the head.

"Stop trying to act like a big shot." I roll my eyes and laugh.

"Ow!" He whimpers. "Violent as ever, I see."

"We're sorry." Nagisa murmurs.

"This wouldn't have happened if we'd been more careful." Ryou adds.

"You two are taking it too hard on yourselves. It's about time you guys stop brooding over it." Kyou tells them.

"Exactly. It wasn't your fault at all." I say.

"They're right. Nothing will come from sitting here." Okazaki says. "Let's head over to an instrument shop."

We all nod, and we head to the instrument shop.

"Hmm, music, huh?" Youhei murmurs. "I was never really into that sort of thing…"

"I played the flute when I was in grade school, but I quit the same year." I tell him. "Not my type of thing, either."

"I wanted to play something like a violin when I was in grade school, but I never got the courage to do it." Ryou adds.

"Looks like Kotomi-chan's the only music nerd in our group." Okazaki comments. When we get to the instrument shop, Nagisa gives the violin to the man at the counter.

"If it's this damaged, it's cheaper to buy a new one rather than fix it." The man tells us.

"Hey, you're trying to make sales and using the fact that we're in a bind to your advantage!" Kyou shouts.

"Stop, Kyou. That's too rude of you." Okazaki chastises her.

"He's right, onee-chan." Ryou tells her.

"Um, it's something really important. Can you do something about it?" Nagisa begs him. However, after lots of bargaining and pleading, in the end, he wouldn't accept.

"He was definitely trying to take advantage of us." Kyou mutters.

"But it's true that a new one would be cheaper." Okazaki points out.

"Maybe we could go back and look for a new one?" I suggest. Kyou turns toward me and Okazaki.

"It has to be this violin for Kotomi." Kyou says, and everyone looks down.

"Let's try another shop!" Nagisa suggests. "We can't give up like this."

We board a bus and head into a part of the city. I lean on Youhei as we get on the bus and close my eyes.

"Are you getting tired?" He asks me.

"Only a little…I'm always tired." I laugh, and open my eyes to look at him. "Are you?"

"Do you want to go home?" Youhei asks me. "And I'm never tired!"

"I wanna stay with you for as long as possible~" I say, wrapping my arms around him. "And suuuure!"

"It's true! Youhei-sama never gets tired!" He says, and I roll my eyes.

"But…you're so comfortable I might fall asleep." I giggle. Youhei blushes as I say this, and I laugh even more. "It's true! My You-chan pillow!" I smile and put my head on his shoulder.

"G-Geez, what's with you?" Youhei smirk and ruffles my hair. "Definitely can't keep yourself off of me~"

Now it's my turn to blush. "W-What if that was true, huh?" I huff.

"Well, I wouldn't stop you, my beloved Rin-chan~" He laughs and winks at me.

"S-Stooop it~~" I wail and bury my face into him. Youhei laughs more and wraps his arms around me.

Once the bus reaches our destination, Youhei keeps an arm draped around my shoulders, with me still blushing about what he said.

"There's a shop down here." Kyou directs us, and we head to that shop, with Nagisa handing the man the broken violin.

"But, even if it is repairable, Saturday is an impossible date." The man is telling us. Everyone's faces fall.

"Can't it just be a late birthday present?" I suggest.

"Perhaps…How long would it take, then?" Ryou asks the man.

"I can't even guess." He replies. "Somewhere between a month and half a year."

"That long?!" I exclaim, my eyes wide.

"That's way too long!" Kyou shouts at him. "Cut it down to two days, please." She says, striking a pose. I sigh, trying to hold in a laugh. Youhei rolls his eyes.

"You should stay quiet." Okazaki tells her.

"Also, when it comes back, there's no guarantee that it'll play with the sound it used to." We all sigh.

"But…that's still okay, right?" Nagisa says. "So please, fix it!" After much more pleading, he finally accepts, and we get back on the bus.

"God, this is pissing me off." Kyou fumes.

"There's nothing we can do. We're lucky enough that he accepted it.

"How much do you think the repair fee will cost?" Ryou asks.

My eyes widen. "I can't even imagine how much it might be…"

"You don't have to worry about that. If it comes down to it, we'll collect money at school." Kyou replies.

"If you organize it, it might turn into blackmail rather than a collection." Okazaki points out, and I snort. Kyou holds her fist up at him, and he backs away. She lets out a sigh.

"It was so much fun up until a few days ago. Why didn't things turn out well?" Kyou asks.

"We still can't give up, though!" I say. "We've already gotten so far. We just can't give up now!"

"You're really determined, huh?" Youhei says, poking my cheek.

"Of course I am! Kotomi-chan's my friend!" I look shyly at him. "I'd do the same for you, if not more."

"I wonder if Kotomi-chan is still at home…" Nagisa murmurs.

Once we get off the bus, we head to Kotomi's house, and Okazaki shows us the work he's done on her yard.

"Hey, you might quite a bit of progress!" Kyou exclaims. She's right. Half of the weeds that had flooded Kotomi's yard are gone.

"You're amazing to have done all of this alone, Okazaki-san." Ryou says.

"Can you clean up my room that fast too?" Youhei asks, and he hits him on the head.

"No way." He replies.

"I-I c-" I stammer shyly, but Okazaki cuts me off. He's talking to Ryou.

"Not at all. I'm not sure if I'll make it for Saturday or not." He replies to her.

"Kotomi! You're up there, right?!" Kyou shouts to the window. "Come out! Kotomi!"

"Onee-chan, you shouldn't shout at her." Ryou chastises.

"Yeah. You're disturbing the neighbors." Okazaki says. Nagisa, Ryou, Kyou and I all exchange a look.

"Okazaki-san, may we help too?" Nagisa asks. His eyes widen, then he smiles.

"Thanks, but it's already late. If you're late going home, your parents will be worried." Okazaki points out, and Kyou glances at us then starts walking away.

"All right. See you." Kyou says, waving to us.

"Please don't push yourself too hard, Okazaki-san." Nagisa tells him.

"Bye, Okazaki-kun!" I wave, and Youhei and I start heading home as well, leaving Ryou, Nagisa and Okazaki alone.

"Sorry for keeping you out so late." I tell Youhei as we walk home. Night had fallen a while ago, and the street lights flash around us.

He laughs. "I don't mind at all! But what about you? Will your parents be upset? I don't want you getting in trouble…"

I smile and kiss his cheek. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I'm just glad I got to spend another day with you."

Youhei blushes and stares at the ground. "M-Me too. I'm glad I got to spend another day with my darling Rin-chan~"

I roll my eyes. "Why do you keep saying things like that?"

He blinks. "Because they're true." I blush hard and squeeze his hand.

"R-Really?" I jump up. "Ohmigosh! That reminds me! With all this talk about Kotomi's birthday, I remembered I don't even know yours! You-chan, when's your birthday?"

"It's February 17th." He laughs. "What about you?"

"Awww…dang it, it already passed! And here I was planning to throw a huge celebration for you…hmm, maybe a very-very belated birthday party?" I say. "Oh, mine's December 21st."

He opens his mouth to reply, when Kyou suddenly calls our names. "Oiii! You two lovebirds! Sunohara! Rin! We're going back to help Tomoya! Want to help?"

We stare at each other, then I smile.

"What do you want to do, You-chan?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I already told you. I'll go wherever you go." Youhei winks at me and I giggle.

"You're too good to me." I sigh, rolling my eyes. "I wanna go help."

"Will your parents get mad at you?" He asks me.

"I told you, don't worry about it! They don't really care what I do, as long as I have some kind of reason." I tell him and he blinks and smiles.

"Okay then~Shall we go?" Youhei asks. I nod and smile, and suddenly we're both skipping down the sidewalk, holding hands and laughing. We must look like a clichéd couple out of a movie. But I'm glad.

Kyou rolls her eyes as we catch up with her. "You two look like you're out of some cheesy romantic movie." She says, as if she was reading my thoughts.

"Is that a bad thing?" Youhei asks, raising his eyebrows.

She shrugs. "If you don't mind looking like weirdos, I guess not. Let's go!"

And the five of us run back to Kotomi's house, where Okazaki has already begun to weed the yard. We work hard for a while, Youhei and I teasing each other most of the time, throwing dirt at each other, and then getting yelled at by Kyou.

But…it seems perfect, somehow.

**Thank you so much for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you thought! I'd love to hear your opinion! Stay tuned for the next chapter~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Help I was listening to "A Tiny Love" from the Sword Art Online OST while writing this and now my feels are all over the place.**

**Thank you so so so so so much, AlwaysTheTruth for your review and continued support! It means so much! :D Thank you!**

_It's kind of funny how I get when I'm around you. My heart pounds so fast, I can hear it in my ears. I feel so warm, all over, and I blush like crazy. I can't even complete my sentences without stammering. I feel like running, dancing, jumping around. I feel like I could do anything with you by my side. This is the effect you have on me. Is this love?_

I wake up early the next morning, full of energy even though I had gone to bed late last night, after helping Okazaki and the others weed Kotomi's yard. Youhei had walked me home again, leaving me with my heart fluttering. We're all going to walk to school this morning, and Nagisa had told us she wanted to stop by Kotomi's house to check on Okazaki again.

Taking a deep breath, I rush out the door, waving goodbye to my mom and run to where Youhei's apartment is. Since Youhei walks me home almost every night, since we're always out, I insisted I go and pick him up in the morning.

Nervously, my fist hovers over the door, and I knock lightly on it.

"Comiiiiing!" I hear him shout. He opens the door with his toothbrush still in his mouth. "One minute!" Youhei blushes, running to the sink and putting his toothbruth down, then wiping his mouth. "G-Good morning, Rin-chan!"

I giggle. "Good morning, You-chan! Did I come too early?"

"N-No, not at all! I'm glad you came!" He replies, grabbing his school bag and shutting the door. I caught a glance of his room again, and inside I saw the dango I had made for him a little while ago by his bed. He actually kept it?! G-geez…

"Shall we go?" I say and take his hand.

"We shall." Youhei replies, smiling, and squeezes my hand. "Oh yeah, Rin-chaaaan?"

I sigh. Whenever he uses that tone of voice, that means he wants something. "What is it, You-chan?"

"Did you finish the homework we had for English?" He asks me.

Rolling my eyes, I stop walking and pull my homework out, handing it to him. "You're lucky your girlfriend is so nice." I huff.

Youhei throws his arms around me, squeezing me tightly. "Thank you, my darling Rin-chan~!"

"'Y-You-chan, you're squishing me…" I reply, blushing. "Do your own homework next time or I won't give you mine anymore."

"Yes ma'am." Youhei replies, still holding me.

"Y-Y-You can l-let me go now…" I stammer, even though a part of me doesn't want him to.

"Rin-chan! Sunohara-san!" I look up the sidewalk and see Nagisa waving at us, with Ryou and Kyou by her side. I wave back.

"Good morning Nagisa-chan, Ryou-chan, Kyou-san!" I call, then turn to Youhei. "Ready?" I giggle.

"Ready." He replies, and we skip down the sidewalk together, cheesy as ever.

"Are you going to that every day?" Kyou says as we join the three of them. Youhei and I look at each other.

"Probably." We say in unison, and laugh. The five of us start to walk to Kotomi's house, joking and teasing each other. Once we get there, as Nagisa suspected, Okazaki is bent over, still weeding the yard.

"Okazaki-san." Nagisa calls his name as we walk over to him.

"Hey. Good morning." He says to her. His face has dirt all over it. How long has been working on it this morning? Okazaki walks over to us, and Kyou reaches into her bag and pulls out something wrapped up, and hands it to him.

"Something for you." She says.

"Thanks." Okazaki replies, taking it.

"Were you here all night?" Kyou asks.

"You've got to be kidding me. I do go home at night." Okazaki tells her.

"Um, we were thinking of skipping school as well, and helping." Ryou tells him.

"Just the thought is enough." Okazaki says. "We can't have both Class E and D's class reps be absent." He has a point there.

"Kotomi!" Kyou yells to her window. "Are you getting your sleep? Are you eating properly? We're looking forward to your birthday the day after tomorrow!"

There's no reply, and Kyou's face falls. "Will this really all work out?"

"Of course! It has to! There's no way it won't!" I insist, pumping my fist in the air. "No matter what, it will!"

"You're cute when you're fired up." Youhei teases, pinching my cheek and I jump and turn away, blushing.

"Then we'll come here after school, then?" Nagisa suggests. Okazaki finally agrees, and we start walking back to school.

"That Okazaki…he really does try hard, huh?" Kyou murmurs.

"It's inspiring!" Nagisa smiles.

"I've never seen him that determined before." Youhei mutters.

"Geeezzz…this is making me really want to do something for You-chan!" I groan. "But it's past his birthday…there aren't any holidays coming up for a while. Not fair!"

Youhei laughs. "You don't have to do anything, Rin-chan. All I need is you here with me~" He wraps an arm around my waist.

Kyou makes a gagging motion. "Get a room!" She laughs.

I blush. "W-We aren't even kissing!" I huff. The instant I say that, Youhei smirks, grabs my chin, and kisses me, leaving me breathless.

"Wh-wh-what the heck!?" I gasp, blushing harder than ever.

He shrugs. "Well, you said we weren't kissing. Now we did~"

Kyou snorts and rolls her eyes, walking ahead of us, with Ryou and Nagisa staring at us with wide eyes. Youhei just whistles and starts walking, then turns back to me.

"You coming?" He winks, extending his hand.

"Idiot!" I mutter, grabbing his hand, trying not to laugh, but I end up laughing anyways, and cover my mouth. Can my heart pound any faster? Why do I feel so weak, so helpless, yet so safe with him? "Honestly…"

Youhei grabs my waist and pulls me to his side, ruffling my hair, laughing his amazing-adorable laugh.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The school day goes by pretty quickly, and just as Nagisa said, we all head back over to Kotomi's house, where Okazaki is working tirelessly, the sky a pale orange color.

"Eep!" I squeal as a shower of dirt rains over me for the fifth time. I had tried to ignore it before, but this time I snap, and throw dirt back at Youhei. His eyes widen and he smirks, tossing a little more at me.

"Stop acting like a grade-schooler!" I chastise, but I'm giggling, and throw some back.

Kyou walks over and sighs. "You do realize we're trying to clean Kotomi's yard, right? Not make it messier." She teases. "You two always manage to make everything a game."

After she turns away, Youhei throws a little more at me, then looks away and whistles, pulling out some more of the weeds. I roll my eyes, smiling, as I work on my section.

"Psssst. Rin-chan. Pssst." Youhei whispers a while later. "Rin-chaaaan~"

I ignore him. But then he starts poking my shoulder.

"Psssst. My beloved Rin-chan!" He says. I whirl around.

"What?!" I grump.

He holds his hands up and smirks. "Geez, I just wanted to say you look adorable." Youhei says. I blush and look away.

"Y-You look a-adorable too…" I murmur, pulling more of the weeds out. We're almost done. But there's still a lot of other things we have to get done. Youhei smiles at me, a smile that could light up the darkest of places, takes my hand, and I'm suddenly filled with warmth.

We stay like that, our hands together, while we use our free hands to weed the yard. "I bet we'll be finished by tomorrow." I say.

"Definitely!" Youhei says.

"You-chan…thank you for coming with me when we do this. I know it can't be much fun…" I murmur shyly. "When I'm with you, I feel reassured…"

Youhei blushes and bends over and kisses my cheek. "You don't need to thank me. I always have fun when I'm with you~These past days have actually been pretty fun. I'm glad I get to enjoy it with you." He says, causing me to blush as well.

"R-Really?" I stammer. "I feel the same way." By this time, the sky has fallen dark once more, and the stars sparkle brighter than ever. I close my eyes and lean against Youhei and he wraps his arms around me.

"Shall we get going? Nagisa, Kyou and Ryou are leaving." He asks.

I huff. "Can't I just stay like this for a while longer?" Youhei laughs, his arms tightening around me, as he kisses the top of my head. My heart's racing, like usual. I look around us, then open my eyes and sit up, giving Youhei a quick kiss, then stand up and extend my hand.

"Let's go, You-chan~" I smile, and he stares at me, then takes my hand, and stands up. We wave goodbye to everyone else, and head home, and suddenly I feel lighter than air. I don't want this night to end…

_So You-chan, let's always be together._

oOoOoOoOoOo

On Kotomi's birthday, she comes to school.

"Kotomi-chan! Good morning!" I wave as I see her walking up the stairs, a smile on her face. Everyone greets her as well.

"Good morning, Kotomi!

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, everyone! Were you all waiting for me?" She asks, seeming a little surprised.

"Of course. Today's your birthday after all." Okazaki winks.

"Oh, right." Kotomi replies.

"And, about your present…" Kyou hands Kotomi a ticket covered in dango that Nagisa had made.

"A violin gift certificate…" Kotomi reads.

"It's the violin you like. We intended to give it you, but it broke." Nagisa explains.

"It could be repaired, but it couldn't be fixed for today." Ryou says.

"When it comes back fixed, we'll give it to you, so hold on to that until then." Kyou adds.

"Everyone tried their very best for you. Happy birthday, Kotomi-chan!" I smile.

"Thank you." Kotomi murmurs.

"Ichinose-san! Wonderful. I see you're willing to come to school again." Kotomi's teacher comes running towards us.

"Sensei, good morning." Kotomi bows.

"Good morning. Your godfather is going to be here today. He said there's something he wants to give to you." Her teacher says. Kotomi's face falls, and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, he's not that bad of a person." Okazaki tells her. "You actually know that, don't you?"

Kyou smiles sympathetically. "We'll have him come to the theater club's room. That way you can relax."

"We'll be there with you." Nagisa says. "Let's meet him, Kotomi-chan!"

"…Okay." Kotomi murmurs.

Later that day, as the teacher said, the man from before, Kotomi's godfather appears in the doorway of the theater club.

"Kotomi-kun." He says, walking towards her.

"Sorry for having you come all the way here." Okazaki says.

"It's fine. I'm glad I could see her today." He replies, putting a metal briefcase on the desk in front of us. Kotomi's eyes widen a little.

"It's Father's suitcase." Kotomi gasps, and everyone turns to stare at her.

"This arrived at the research lab late last night." The man explains. "I opened it and confirmed it belonged to Dr. Ichinose, and told myself I had to give this to you today."

"Is the paper inside?" Kotomi asks warily.

"Open it yourself." He replies. She reaches towards the briefcase, her hands shaking, then pulls her hands away.

"We're here with you, Kotomi." Okazaki says.

"That's right! Fight, Kotomi!" Kyou tells her. Ryou and Nagisa nod encouragingly.

"You can do it!" I smile. Youhei puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles at her.

Slowly, she opens the briefcase, her hands still shaking, and gasps in surprise when she opens it. Inside…is a teddy bear. As she pulls the bear out, a slip of paper falls out as well. Kotomi picks it up and reads it out loud.

"If you find this, please give this to our daughter." She reads.

"The signatures are those of Ichinose Koutarou and Ichinose Mizue. In other words, Kotomi-kun's parents." The man says.

"This is how they always signed co-authored papers." Kotomi murmurs.

"The suitcase belonged to the Ichinoses. It must have drifted to shore after a long time. Someone found the suitcase, opened it, and saw the letter. Then passed it on to someone else. This suitcase must have gotten passed from one person to another like that. There is evidence several people had touched the bear and the suitcase. You probably don't know what was inside the envelope you burned, right?" The man explains.

"The paper Father and Mother wrote?" Kotomi asks.

"There was never a second copy of the paper. Your father was editing the paper until the very last moment so he mustn't have had time to make a second copy." He replies.

"Then what was inside the envelope?" Kotomi says.

"Inside was a catalogue of teddy bears." He replies. Kotomi's eyes widen and she gasps as he says this. "You probably would have never believed me if I told you earlier than today, but I think you'll believe me now. I still remember it. "For the first time my daughter said what she wants." The happy face your father had as he said that."

"But the paper should have been in this suitcase, right? Father and Mother's paper." Kotomi replies.

"Read the paper." The man tells her. She opens it carefully and unfolds it and reads it out loud.

"'Dear Kotomi. The world is beautiful. Even when they are filled with sadness and tears…' This is Father's handwriting! Mother…" Kotomi's hands tremble again.

"Your Father and Mother threw everything else inside, including the paper, and instead placed the bear and the letter. Your parents were trying to describe the world's origin as beautifully, purely, and concisely as possible. But I've never seen anything more beautiful than the words in that letter. Your Father and Mother were wishing for your happiness until the very end." The man says. Kotomi's crying, and she reaches out and hugs the bear.

"Father, Mother, I've been waiting all these years. I've been crying inside the house all these years. Then, Tomoya-kun came to get me. I'm very blessed right now. Very, very blessed. So…So…Father…Mother…welcome home." Kotomi cries. I start crying as well and throw my arms around Kotomi.

"I'm so glad, Kotomi-chan…" I cry, hugging her tightly. Soon, everyone else, including Youhei and Okazaki wraps their arms around the two of us, in a giant group hug.

Once we pull away, I throw myself into Youhei's arms. "You-chan, are you crying too?" I giggle, as I see his eyes water a little.

"O-Of course not! Ridiculous! I-I got something in my eye…" He scoffs, and I laugh and bury my face into him.

"That's another problem solved~" I smile. "Wait! I almost forgot!" I pull away from Youhei, and before he can respond, I dash out of the room. "Come with me!

"What is it?" He asks, catching up to me.

"You'll see!" I giggle, and grab his hand, running outside of the school. We run for a little while more, until I reach the place I had taken him before, where the cherry blossoms are, and the playground is. The sky is a gorgeous orange, and the sky looks once more as if it is on fire.

Youhei's panting. "Is something wrong?" He asks.

I blush. "I...just wanted to be out here with you. The sky looks pretty...We came here before when it was night, and I wanted to see a sunset with you, too." I cover my mouth, and blush harder. I sound ridiculous.

"You're right. It does like pretty. But...I know something even prettier." Youhei says, smirking, then puts a hand on my cheek, and kisses me, and my eyes widen, and suddenly everything around me seems like it's on fire. The sky. My blushing face. My heart. _I _feel like I'm on fire. I feel so energized, so light, I could run for hours without getting tired. I feel warm, all over, warm, warm, I'm on fire.

_Jab! _

"Kyaaaa!" I fall over as something jabs into my side, and Youhei bursts into laughter.

"Every single time!" He laughs harder.

I sniffle. "You-chan, you idiot!" I huff, standing up, and rubbing my side. "Geez…I'm leaving!"

"Wait! Rin-chaaaaan!" Youhei calls after me, but I ignore him, trying to hold back a smile. He runs up to me and jumps in front of me.

"Rin-chan! Rin! Rin-chaaaaan!" Youhei says, waving his hand in front of my face.

I can't help it. I snort, and then I'm laughing. "G-Geez, I swear, you're such an idiot. The stupidest idiot I ever met." But, I'm blushing and smiling when I say it.

He makes a hurt face. "You're so mean, Rin-chan! You hurt my heart." Youhei says dramatically, which only makes me laugh even more.

"Come on, idiot." I say, rolling my eyes.

OoOoOoOoOo

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter ^^**

**Please tell me what you thought in a review! Thank you all so much for reading! **


	12. Chapter 12

"Bye, Mom. I'm heading off!" I say, waving. She doesn't seem to be paying attention, or she could be ignoring me. Sighing, I walk out the door, nervously chewing on my bottom lip.

The sky's clear blue once more, with the sun shining bright. I wonder how much longer this weather can keep up...? I play with my hair nervously as I walk up to Youhei's apartment.

"So Youhei's managed to keep you around, huh?" A girl with blue hair tied back comments as I step inside the building. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Misae Sagara, the manager here. Youhei's told me about how he's in love with this girl, and that she comes to pick him up in the morning...you're her, right?"

I blush hard. Youhei said he was..._in love_ with me?! "Oh, um, nice to meet you, Misae-san! I'm Rin Kimura. A-And he really said that? Y-Yeah, I'm his girlfriend..." I shuffle my feet._  
_

Misae laughs. "Nice to meet you. And yes. All he does now is talk about you. You really got him head-over-heels in love with you, huh? You know, you could do better than him." She teases, and at that moment, Youhei comes running down the stairs.

"Wh-what kind of things are you telling her?" He demands, out of breath. Youhei blushes as he sees me, then waves. "I-Ignore whatever she said..."

I giggle, and Misae laughs. "If she's able to put up with you, I think she's a keeper." She winks to Youhei, and he groans.

"Am I really that annoying?"

I flick his forehead. "Yep. But, it's a cute annoying!" I wink, blushing as I say this. "Anyway, we got to get to class." I wave to Misae, and grab Youhei's hand, rushing out the door.

"What did she say about me?" He asks.

I stare at the ground. "Um, she said I could do better than you..." I tease. I don't want to mention the part she said about him being in love with me, because I don't want him to deny it...I mean, for him, I could be just a tiny little crush..."But, I don't care about that. You're the best out there~" I laugh and poke him, noticing how he was looking upset.

Youhei blushes and scoffs. "O-Obviously. I'm the best."

"Don't get full of yourself, now." I roll my eyes. "Oh yeah, You-chan, you really don't have to stay in the Theater Club. We've got enough members, and I don't want you to be forced to do something or whatever."

He sighs. "How many times have we had this discussion, now? I already told you, I want to join. I want to be with you. Besides, it'll be fun to see you acting~"

"J-Just don't get your hopes up, okay? I'm nowhere near as good as Nagisa or Kotomi when it comes to acting." I say, blushing harder.

Youhei rolls his eyes. "Don't be modest. No matter what you do, I know you'll be amazing."

And, typically, my face turns the shade of a tomato. "G-Geez, You-chan..." I murmur. Youhei laughs, squeezing my hand.

"What? It's true." He laughs. I bury my face into him.

"N-No way..." He pats my head, then laughs evilly, and before I know it, he pinches my side, then pulls away.

"Y-You-chan!" I gasp, and he runs away. "Dang iiiittt!"

"Come and get me, Rin-chan!" Youhei smirks, sticking his tongue out, then running off again.

"Honestly..." I roll my eyes, and dash after him.

OoOoOoOoOoO

When we go the Theater Club later that day, Kyou and Ryou tell us that they'll be joining the Theater Club too, despite the fact they aren't interested in acting. They want to help us get even more members, so we can get recognized by the Student Council.

"Now we're at six members. The Student Council will definitely recognize us now." Ryou smiles.

"To be honest, I feel bad, since it feels like we're tricking them." Nagisa murmurs.

"You're too honest!" Kyou replies, whirling around to face her.

"Nagisa, we aren't tricking them all. We had to work even harder since they wouldn't let us put up posters or do anything else to recruit members." I say to her.

"Everyone's up to helping you, so don't waste their thoughts, Nagisa." Okazaki points out.

"Now that it's decided, let's take action!" Kyou says, pumping her fist in the air. So the six of us head out to talk to the language teacher.

"Thank you so much, You-chan." I say softly as the six of us walk down the hallway. "You've really helped us a lot."

"I'll do anything for you, my beloved Rin-chan~" Youhei replies, draping his arm around my shoulders, causing my heart to skip a beat. I smile to myself. Youhei really is a good guy, if he wants to be...Okazaki told me about how he had gotten into a fight with the Soccer Club before...My smile fades, and Youhei waves a hand in front of my face.

"Rin-chan? You okay?" He asks, and I blink and look up at him. "I called your name like ten times and you didn't answer."

"I'm sorry...I was just thinking about something." I kiss his nose. "I'm okay now."

We head into the room where the language teacher is, and tell him about our plan.

"Oh, so you want to restart the Theater Club?" He asks.

"Yes. We want to take part in the School Festival." Kyou responds.

"We've got the number required. All we need now is an advisor for the Student Counsel to recognize us." Okazaki says.

"Could you please be our advisor?" Nagisa asks.

"Could you go discuss this with a junior named Rie Nishina?" He replies.

"Rie Nishina-san?" Ryou repeats.

"As in the Nishina-san who lent me the violin?" Kotomi asks. With that, the six of us head to the room where the teacher had told us to find Rie Nishina.

"Ichinose-san?" Rie asks as we open the door.

"Nishina-san, hello." Kotomi greets.

"It's been a while. What brings you here today?" Rie replies.

"It's not me today. Nagisa-chan wants to talk to you." Kotomi says, looking over at Nagisa, who steps forward.

"I'm Nagisa Furukawa from 3-B. I'm not entirely certain of the situation, but...Um, may I speak with her alone?" Nagisa says, turning to the rest of us. "I don't think it's very comfortable for them to see a group of upperclassmen come by." Nagisa does have a point. In their shoes, I would be pretty uncomfortable. And with that, we leave the room.

"I wonder if Nagisa-chan will get through to them." I say, as we wait outside.

"I'm sure she will. Nagisa can persuade almost anyone." Okazaki replies.

"She didn't have that much luck with the Student Council, though, remember?" Youhei points out. So we wait anxiously, for what seems like forever, until Nagisa finally steps out of the room, closing the door behind her. Everyone walks to her.

"How did it go, Nagisa?" Okazaki asks.

"Well..." She frowns. "You see, they had already planned on forming the Choir Club, and had asked Koumura-sensei to be their advisor before us.

"Wouldn't the music teacher usually be the advisor for the choir club?" Okazaki says.

"The music teacher already has her hands full with the Wind Ensemble." Ryou replies. "The only teacher who is not advising any club is Koumura-sensei."

"So what are you going to do, Nagisa?" Kyou asks. "You're not going to back down now, are you?

She doesn't respond, and I pat her on the back.

"I admit, it seems wrong to steal Koumura-sensei from them, but still, we can't give up. I'm sure there's got to be something else we can do..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Rin-chan, do you think we could have a study date?" Youhei asks as he walks me home.

"A study date?" I blush. I guess I still haven't gotten used to the word 'date' yet. "S-Sure!"

"Do you think it could be at your place? I've been wanting to meet your parents..." He replies shyly, causing me to blush more.

"Y-Yes! Oh...wait..." I frown. "That...probably wouldn't be a good idea."

Youhei tilts his head. "Why not? I mean, I don't want to intrude or anything. Sorry if this was going too fast..." He frowns, and suddenly I feel really guilty.

"N-No that's not it! It's just...um, my parents work a lot...and they probably won't be home if you come over, so you wouldn't be able to meet them..." It's partly the truth, at least. "Maybe another time, though! So will it work at your place?"

Youhei laughs nervously. "Um...about that...you know...my rooms kinda messy..."

I giggle. "That's fine! I'm known for my cleaning skills, after all!" I smirk, striking a pose.

"Really? And wait, what?!" Youhei exclaims. Laughing, I give him a quick kiss, then run inside before he can say anything else. "Tomorrow after school, then!" I shout after him.

Sighing, I go inside, and turn on the lights. It doesn't look like anyone is home yet. The real reason I didn't want to bring Youhei over...

The relationship I have with my family is complicated. I live with my mother, my step-dad who's rarely home, and my two younger sisters. My mom and biological dad got divorced when I was very young. I don't even remember what he looks like. A few years after the divorce, my mom got re-married to another man. Of course, he was the typical step-dad. Alcoholic, smokes cigarettes, that kind of thing. But, he never went over the edge, or abused us or anything, so I couldn't call the police on him. He pushed it a lot, though. He makes my younger sisters and my mom cry a lot.

I've told my mom how I feel about my step-dad before, but she never does anything. My relationship has been strained for a while. As long as I can remember really. Most kids are close to their moms, but I'm just as distant with her as I am with my step-dad. In middle school, I was diagnosed with depression, and shut myself off from the world, therefore creating an even thicker wall between the two of us. Now, she only makes sure I get to school, do my homework, that sort of thing.

I told the two of them about Youhei a few days ago. My mom didn't say anything, and my step-dad made fun of me.

"What kind of idiot would go for crap like you?" Was his reply. My mom still didn't say anything.

That's why I didn't want to want to bring Youhei over...My family would probably screw things up.

But, it won't be completely avoidable, now, will it...?

oOoOoOoOoOo

The next day, at lunch time, we find Nagisa sitting alone by a tree, holding a scrap of paper.

"What's that?" I ask, and she reluctantly hands it to me.

"A love letter?" Youhei teases, glancing at it. I read it out loud.

"_Give up on making the Theater Club. Otherwise you'll be in pain." _I read. "Wait...this is...?!"

"A threatening note?!" Okazaki exclaims, grabbing it.

"It was inside my desk after I came back from PE...Who could have..." Nagisa trails off.

"It has to be someone in the Choir Club." Youhei says.

"I agree with You-chan. They're the only ones who would have a problem if we made the Theater Club, since we're having trouble with the advisor." I say.

"B-But, there's no proof, so we can't say that for sure!" Nagisa shouts, standing up. "She...They wouldn't do such a thing! They're trying to sing together! So they would never do such a thing!" Youhei shakes his head as she says this. "Nishina-san was so kind to Kotomi-chan, as well..."

"Can you be sure?" Youhei says, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Okazaki and I ask at the same time.

"I'll look into this my way. I think I can report the result by the time school ends, so look forward to it." He glances at me shyly. "Do you want to come to, Rin-chan?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. "Of course I _have_ to come. You'll probably do something dumb, like usual, and get kicked out of a window again. I need to stay with you and make sure you don't get hurt."

However, he ignores the insult, and hugs me tightly. "Awwww, Rin-chan, you care about me~~!"

I blush. "I-I do not! I mean...okay, I do. A lot. B-But that doesn't mean anything!"

Youhei laughs, and takes my hand, interlacing our fingers together, while my heart races.

"What are you planning to do? Research? Spying?" I tease.

"Yep! Exactly." Youhei replies, and my eyes widen. I was teasing.

"You're hopeless..." I sigh, squeezing his hand.

"Can you go a day without insulting me?" He asks, and I smirk.

"Nope! Impossible!" I reply, laughing. Youhei sighs and I can see a smile starting to form on his lips.

We go back inside the school building, to where the junior classrooms are, and Youhei asks a bunch of people walking by if they saw any girls go near the senior classes. Finally, a short girl with green eyes tells him that she saw someone named Sugisaka go into a senior classroom and put something in her desk. My eyes widen. It really was her, huh?

"Sugisaka-san? Can you tell us where she is?" I ask.

"Sure. She's in classroom 2-C, eating lunch." The girl replies. Youhei and I exchange a glance, our hands still interlaced, and we walk to the classroom she directed us to.

"Yo. Is there a girl named Sugisaka-san in here?" He asks, and a girl with red hair, who I remember seeing in the choir club room walks towards us, hr eyes narrowing.

"What is it, senpais?" She asks, but I can tell she's a bit irritated.

"We know what you did to Nagisa. Come meet us outside the school building to talk after class ends." Without waiting for a reply, Youhei saunters out of the classroom, taking me along. I look back to see Sugisaka glaring at us as we walk out.

"Mystery solved." Youhei says.

"Well, well, you really are some kind of detective, huh?" I raise my eyebrows, and Youhei smirks, which makes me want to melt. So. Cute! Wait, what did I just say?!

"Yep. Youhei-sama, the amazing detective!" He says, and I burst out laughing.

"Do you realize how childish that sounds?" I laugh, wiping my eyes.

Youhei pouts. "I-It is not...Geez, Rin-chan..." He huffs, turning away. I laugh and kiss his cheek.

"Come on, oh amazing detective. We've got to get back to class."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"It really was one of the choir members. A girl named Sugisaka." Youhei says to Okazaki and Nagisa as the four of us stand outside, the sun slowly setting in the sky.

"Do you have any proof?" Okazaki asks.

"Her classmate saw her go into a senior class and put something inside a desk. I'm not making this up, just so you know." He replies, turning to Nagisa. I hear footsteps approaching us, and turn to see Sugisaka. Looks like she came.

"Ah, here she is." Youhei says. "I called her out." The girl, Sugisaka glares at us. "Good, you came alone."

"The letter was something I did by myself. It has nothing to do with the other two. I'm the only one who did something wrong!" Sugisaka says angrily.

"You think that would fly? Everyone isn't thinking enough, and it's making me sick." Youhei starts to walk towards her.

"Wait, You-chan!" I say, throwing myself in front of him. "Don't! Please!"

"Please wait, Sunohara-san!" Nagisa walks in front of us. She turns to face Sugisaka. "We met in the music room yesterday, right? Let's talk properly." Okazaki, Youhei and I wait behind a shed while Nagisa goes to talk to Sugisaka.

"Nishina-san played the violin when she was little and won many prizes at various competitions. Her talent was acknowledged by many people, and she was supposed to go study abroad, too." Sugisaka says. I glance at Youhei and see he's drinking out of what looks like a tiny milk carton, like what we get for lunch. I poke his cheek and he turns to me, still sipping, and I giggle. "But right before that was about to become reality...she got in an accident. Her grip became weak. She couldn't play the violin as well as she used to, either, so she enrolled in this school, but she looked lonely all the time. So we decided to form the Choir Club! She may not be able to play the violin, but she can sing! She's great at singing, too! Please don't get in Rie-chan's way!" Sugisaka bows.

"You don't have to listen to someone like her! Someone who tries to get sympathy out of others like that is a cheater! It's thoughtless of you to try to get special treatment due to a handicap like that! A handicap like that..." Youhei shouts, throwing the milk carton in the ground. My eyes widen in horror. His voice is so harsh. I've never heard him this angry before...

It scares me. It terrifies me. I'm frozen.

"I can't get in Nishina-san's way..." Nagisa murmurs.

"You haven't done anything wrong, Nagisa-chan! Forget the things she said!" Youhei yells.

"But..." Nagisa smiles weakly. "I've already heard them. The Choir Club is seriously trying to create music, but the Theater Club is..." Youhei turns away and glares at the ground.

"Sugisaka-san. I'll give up on the Theater Club." Nagisa says, and my eyes widen more.

"Furukawa..." Sugisaka mutters, crying.

"So please create a wonderful Choir Club with Nishina-san." Nagisa says, still smiling. Youhei's jaw tightens, and suddenly, he dashes off.

"Sunohara!" Okazaki says. My legs finally seem to move again, and I chase after him.

"You-chan! Wait!" I call, my voice shaking. I'm crying. He doesn't slow down, though, and continues to run. "YOU-CHAN!" With a final dash of energy, I throw my arms around him, and he tenses up. I tense up too, expecting him to throw me off of him, but instead his arms wrap around me. "You-chan..." I murmur.

"Why...why are you crying?" He asks, his eyes expressionless.

I smile weakly, tears still dripping down my face. I must look pathetic. "'Cuz, it hurts me when you're upset...I don't like not being able to do anything." I bite my lip. "I...want you to always be smiling, and never sad or angry...I know that can't happen. I...guess this sounds dramatic, maybe? But I want to take away all your pain..." I blush, and look away. "I'm sorry..."

Youhei's staring at me with wide eyes, looking shocked.

"I-I'm sorry...that really was weird..." I stammer, staring at the ground. However, Youhei holds me tighter, and kisses the top of my head.

"That was weird." He says, and I frown. "But, you know, I happen to love weird..." Youhei turns my face towards his. "Thank you. I don't think I've ever had someone care about my feelings..."

I blush harder, and stare at him. "I wanna protect you from now on, okay, You-chan? I'm going to try my best." I fiddle my fingers, my heart racing. "You-chan...I..."

Okay, this is hard. Youhei's staring at me with a curious expression on his face. I take a deep breath.

"I...I...I lo-"

"Sunoharaaaa! Riiiin! You guys here?" Okazaki shouts, running towards us. "Oh, there you are!"

I blush and groan inwardly. Not today. What did I almost say?! Geez!

"Yo, Okazaki!" Youhei waves, stands up, and extends his hand to me. I grab it, still bushing. "What was it you wanted to say, Rin-chan?"

I smile. "Nothing. I'll tell you later."

He tilts his head. "You sure?"

"Yep!" I nod, then frown, and squeeze his hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm a lot better. I'm sorry...for scaring you..." He murmurs, scratching the back of his head. "I get ahead of myself a lot. It just really bugs me when people-" I put my finger on his lips.

"It's fine. Don't say anything else." I smile, and walk ahead. "But...I meant what I said. I'm going to try my best to protect you, okay, You-chan?"

"Y-Yes! Okay! And the same goes for you." Youhei replies, pulling me into a hug.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Okay, I'm warning you..." Youhei says as he opens the door to his room, and I giggle. He's so adorable when he's embarrassed! Y-You didn't just hear that! I've already seen his room from the glances I've gotten when I pick him up in the morning, and in reality, it really isn't that bad at all. There's just a lot of trash. I tie my hair back into a ponytail, put on rubber gloves (lent to me by Misae-san), and open up a trash bag (also lent to me by Misae-san).

"Let's do this!" I smile. "You're room really isn't messy at all, You-chan. You just need to throw things in the trash can." I giggle and he blushes, looking away. It's mostly food wrappers and empty soda cans, which is easy enough. I toss them into the trash bag. Empty ramen cups, empty chip bags, some crumpled up pieces of paper. I find a few mangas on the ground, and I put them on the shelf. I clean up the rest of the trash, and put the trash bag into a trash can outside of his room.

I hum to myself as I pick up a few clothes lying on the ground, putting them into a basket. I notice Youhei's staring at me, and I blink and blush hard. "Wh-what is it?"

Youhei scratches the back of his head, and I notice he's blushing again. "N-Nothing, you're just really cute..."

"E-Ehhh?!" I exclaim, turning in to a tomato.

"Oh, look a cat!" Youhei says, pointing to a ginger cat stepping into the room.

"Awww!" I run over and pet it, forgetting about what Youhei had just said. "Whose cat is this?"

"That cat's Misae-san's." Youhei says, and I kiss the kitten on the head, then go back to cleaning up Youhei's room. Finally, I collapse onto his bed, not thinking about where I am.

"Phew! Well, that wasn't too hard." I blink, then shoot up. "I'm sorry!"

Youhei looks at me shyly. "You can sit down, if you want..." I stare at him, then slowly sit down. I really like being in Youhei's room. I feel even closer to him. What am I thinking?!

"Thank you...for everything." Youhei says, blushing. I laugh. "I don't know how to repay you..."

I wink. "No problem! Hey, you've done a whole lot more for me. If you want, just think it as repayment for you helping me with the whole Kotomi thing. Wait, we were supposed to study, right?"

We grab a couple of books and after a few minutes of awkward silence, we both realize we can't concentrate on studying.

"Hey, You-chan..." I murmur shyly, staring at the ground. "Now that I think about it, there is a way you could repay me for cleaning your room..."

Youhei squeezes my hand. "What is it?"

I bite my lip. "Um..." I turn to look at him, my heart racing, then lean in and kiss him. His eyes widen, and then he closes them, and wraps his arms around me.

After what seems like an eternity, although I never wanted that eternity to end, we pull away, with me breathless.

"So what was it I could do to help you?" Youhei asks, and I almost do a facepalm until I see he's smirking.

"Geeez..." I mutter, flicking his forehead. "What time is it? I should probably get going soon..." But, I don't want to ever leave.

"I'll take you home." Youhei says. "It's kind of cold out..." He rummages around in his closet, then tosses me a jacket. "You can borrow this, if you want."

My eyes widen, and I put it on. It's warm, and soft, and it smells just like him...Ignore that last part! Geez! "Th-Thank you, You-chan!"

And with that, the two of us walk out the building, our hands interlaced.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I don't like this either." Youhei says as he, Okazaki, and I walk down the hallways in school. "If Nagisa isn't going to do it, then I'll go destroy the choir with force."

I hit him on the head.

"Oh, no, you won't!" I growl, glaring at him. He cowers.

"Okay, okay! Fine!" Youhei replies. "I don't like this all!" He groans. I giggle. "What?"

"Nothing. You're cute when you're frusturated." I smirk. Okazaki rolls his eyes, and Youhei turns red and looks away, which causes me to laugh even more.

"Rin-chan, let's go fool around somewhere!" Youhei says, and I blush.

"F-Fool around?" I stammer, my eyes widening.

"N-Not that kind of f-fool around! I-I mean, u-unless you w-wanted to. I mean, w-what?!" Youhei stutters, and I blush harder.

"I-I k-knew that! Pfffft! Oh, we need to go! Somewhere! Ahahahaha! Ha! Ha!" I laugh nervously, blabbering. Okazaki bursts out laughing, holding his sides.

"Oh my god, this is hilarious!" Okazaki laughs, and Youhei hits him on the head, blushing. Finally, we calm down, and Okazaki takes us to a room where a girl with brown hair and blue eyes waits. It's filled with a bunch of old books, and there's a coffee pot.

"Welcome, Okazaki-san and friends." The girl says, handing us each a cup of coffee.

"What kind of situation is this?" Youhei asks, peering at the coffee. I take a sip. It's really good.

"A place where you can drink good coffee for free and kill time, as well. Not bad, right?" Okazaki explains, and I tilt my head.

"My name is Yukine Miyazawa." The girl smiles. "I'm in charge of the key to this reference room."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rin Kimura, and this is my boyfriend Youhei Sunohara." I say, and motion to Youhei, who's frowning.

"Nice to meet you." Yukine bows.

"Is there a meaning to that? All the books here are books no one reads, right?" Youhei asks.

"That's why it's great. All the strange books are collected here." Yukine replies, walking over to a bookshelf, and grabbing a book. "For example, this. It's fortune telling using astrological signs. Sunohara-san, Kimura-san, what are your signs?"

"I'm Aquarius." Youhei says.

"Sagittarius." I tell her.

"Sagittarius. Okay. Your lucky color is blue. Your lucky word is cat. You tend to hide your feelings behind violence, and it takes courage for you to say what you truly feel. You've been trying to say something important to a loved one, but haven't gotten the opportunity. If you say it soon, all will go well. If you're in a relationship, it is strong and will last a while, perhaps longer."

My eyes widen. That was spot on. The last part though. Will that really come true? I sneak a glance at Youhei and see he's looking at me, raising his eyebrow. _You've been trying to say something to a loved one, but you haven't gotten the opportunity. If you say it soon, all will go well._ My heart races.

"Let's see...for Aquarius, your constellation says..." Yukine murmurs.

"If anything, I'd like to know how to get the advisor back from the choir." Youhei says, leaning back in his seat, and I roll my eyes. Yukine doesn't seem to hear him, or she's ignoring him.

"Your lucky color is orange. Your lucky word is basketball." Yukine tells him.

"Basketball..." Okazaki murmurs.

"Between us, it would be your field." Youhei says.

"You're very considerate of your friends. By showing that you sincerely care, those around you will be touched. How you challenge what seems impossible will move others' hearts." Yukine continues.

"Challenge the impossible..." Youhei repeats and I turn to look at him. "Basketball..." Suddenly, he shoots up. "That's it!"

I stand up and grab his hand. "What is it?"

"We're going to practice basketball." Youhei replies, dashing down the hall, gripping my hand, and my eyes widen.

What Yukine said is still running through my head. Will that really happen? I mean, it's just a fortune-telling book. But it was spot on...No way, right? I glance at Youhei, biting my lip. Soon. I'll tell you soon, You-chan.

**Woop! That was my longest chapter yet! **

**Thank you so, so, so very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! *throws rose petals***

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	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, everyone!**

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***hands you both Youhei plushies***

"Basketball? What are you talking about?!" I ask as he dashes to the gym.

Either he doesn't hear me or he's ignoring me, because he doesn't respond, as he drags me inside. Youhei tosses me a basketball once we get inside. My eyes widen as I realize what he wants me to do. The thing is, I have zero talent when it comes to any athletic. I'm clumsy, for one thing, and not athletic at all.

"You-chan...um..." I stammer. "I don't really...I'm not athletic at all, okay?"

He laughs. "Then, I'll teach you. I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself." I raise my eyebrow and shake my head.

"That really isn't a good idea..." I reply, blushing.

"What do you mean? You can't be that bad, right?" Youhei replies, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I almost laugh. "You have _no _idea. But, don't say I didn't warn you..."

oOoOoOoOoOo

After an hour of Youhei trying desperately to teach me basketball, and me failing miserably, I think he gives up.

"I'm sorry...I'm no good at all..." I say, sitting on the floor, bringing my knees to my chest. I managed to fall five times and trip like twenty times. I made a basket twice. I'm really shocked Youhei hasn't snapped yet.

"Th-that's not true! You just need a little practice..." He comes to sit down next to me, and I roll my eyes.

"You-chan, I know I'm completely horrible. But, I still want to help you in a way..." I reply, leaning on him. "Thank you for trying to teach me, though. You know, that was the longest someone went without going crazy from my clumsiness."

"You aren't horrible...No problem, Rin-chan. I'm sorry I didn't help...And really?" Youhei turns to look at me, and I laugh.

"Yep. I've driven loads of people insane. And you did help! You helped lots! It's just that you're such an athletic genius, I couldn't compete at all." I say.

"That's true, I am pretty amazing, huh?" Youhei says, and I giggle to myself.

"Still, the only things you got going for you then, are your looks and athletic ability." I tease. He's a lot more amazing than that, of course.

Youhei doesn't even seem to think that's an insult, however, and smirks. "You think I look good, huh?" He raises his eyebrows, and I blush. "Well, I always knew I was good-looking~"

"Geeez, You-chan! Of course you are! You...you're r-really cute, okay? Hot, even...what the heck am I saying? I can't compliment people at all! I'm such an idiot!" I wail, burying my face into him. Why do I always embarrass myself in front of him? I glance up at Youhei, and realize he's staring at me, which causes me to turn even redder.

"No one's ever said anything like that about me..." Youhei murmurs, and suddenly he wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly. "Rin-chaaaaan! You're amaaaazing~~~~!"

"I-I am n-not!" I stammer. "Geez...Oh wait, that's right! I want to watch you playing basketball, not just trying to teach me. I want to see you in action." I smile, and Youhei stands up.

"Alright, let the master show you how it's done." He teases, and I smirk, and raise my eyebrows.

"This should be interesting~" I say, and Youhei grabs a basketball, stands back a little, and it goes easily into the basket. It looked like he didn't use any effort at all, and my eyes widen as he shoots another one. I spend the next several minutes watching with wide eyes as he makes several more baskets, and only misses a couple of times.

Youhei walks over to me, wiping a little sweat off his forehead. "So what did you think? Sorry, that wasn't as well as I usually do...I guess I'm a little more nervous since you're here."

I stare at him, my eyes still wide, and realize I'm blushing.

"W-Was that bad?" Youhei asks, blushing as well.

I shake my head, and stand up. "No, no, no! That was...seriously amazing. I...feel like I could watch you forever." I reply shyly. Youhei's eyes widen, and he blushes harder, and we both stare at each other for a bit until I grab his hands.

"Show me again, okay? That was awesome!" I say, pulling his hands to my chest, then blushing and suddenly, I feel a little brave, so I lean in, when suddenly a voice shouts.

"Sunohara! Rin!" Okazaki calls, and I pull away and blush hard. "What were you two doing in here?"

"I-It's not what it looks like! I mean, it's exactly what it looks like! I mean-Gaaaah!" I wail, hiding my face with my hands, while Okazaki cracks up again.

"We were practicing basketball." Youhei responds, and before Okazaki can reply, Youhei grabs my hand and drags me out of the gym.

"So wait, why were we practicing basketball anyway?" I ask as we walk outside.

"This is how we're going to get the Theater Club an advisor." Youhei replies. I stare at him, and tilt my head. "You see, if we win a match against the basketball team here, the Choir Club will have to see how dedicated we are and give in, right?"

I almost laugh. "You think it's going to work like some kind of movie?"

"Hey, I'm doing this to help you, you know." He says turning to look at me, and I sigh

"You-chan...you really don't have to do anything for me..." I murmur.

"Don't even try to change my mind, because I'm doing it no matter what." Youhei says, striking a pose, and I smile.

"Fine, then, You-chan. So, who else were you planning to have help you?" I ask.

"Okazaki, probably...I don't know, I'm sure I'll find someone else." Youhei replies.

"Well, I'll see if I can help find someone else to play with you. It's the least I can do. Also...it'll be fun to watch you play in a basketball match." I say, and glance at Youhei, who blushes. "Good luck, You-chan!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next morning, Youhei dribbles a basketball all the way to school as we walk together, while still holding my hand with his other hand.

"You-chan, I think you're obsessed." I murmur, rolling my eyes as we wait outside for Okazaki and Nagisa to show up. He dribbles it around more, then shoots it up into the air. I don't think he heard me.

Finally, Okazaki and Nagisa walk up the path together, and Youhei turns around to greet them.

"I've been waiting." He says to the two of them, and without explaining himself to the two of them, he races upstairs, waiting for them to follow him.

"So I was thinking we should have a match against the basketball team." Youhei says, leaning back in his chair.

"A match against the basketball team?" Nagisa repeats.

"Hold on! Where did this come from?" Okazaki asks.

"Remember what Yukine said yesterday? I can touch those emotionally by working frantically. And the lucky word is basketball. In other words, if we have a match against the basketball team and win, we can get those choir girls to understand my point. Those handicaps don't mean anything. And when Sugisaka and Nishina are touched, they will give us the advisor." Youhei explains.

"Wait. You got the basketball idea from fortune-telling?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Yep! It's gotta be true!" Youhei replies, smiling. I also remember what Yukine said...if what she says is true, does that mean we will get the Theater Club back? And...will I have to say those three words?

"You really think a shounen manga-like plot like you just said would really work?" Okazaki points out. He has a point, it does seem pretty far-fetched.

"I know you can't shoot. So be the point guard. Let's do this!" Youhei replies. Okazaki stands up and sighs.

"I can't go along with this. Let's go, Nagisa." Okazaki says, turning to Nagisa, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the room.

"Hey, hold on Okazaki!" Youhei shouts after the two of them, and I turn to Youhei.

"Well, that didn't work out..." I murmur.

Youhei smirks. "I'm not giving up on him so easily. He _will _be playing basketball with me, no matter what!"

I stare at him. "You seem really determined to get Okazaki-kun on your team." I notice.

"Even though he can't shoot, he's still a valuable player, and I know he would be able to help us get the Theater Club back together." Youhei replies.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Rin-chan, come on, we have to catch him!" Youhei shouts, grabbing my hand. My eyes widen.

"What? Who?" I gasp as he races down the school hallway, and down the stairs.

"Okazaki!" Youhei replies, and bursts out the door. I can see Okazaki and Nagisa running away from us in the distance.

I sigh, rolling my eyes as he drags me down the pathway.

"Okazakiiiiii!" Youhei shouts after him. Finally, we catch up to the two of them, and all four of us are panting. "I finally caught up. Why did you run away, Okazaki? You're being so unfriendly." He reaches a hand up to put it on Okazaki's shoulder, but Nagisa grabs it.

"Um...well...Okazaki-san isn't appreciating it, so I don't think you should." Nagisa says.

"Why? You know Okazaki and I get along well." Youhei replies. I turn to look at Nagisa.

"You can't! Even if you're close to each other, there are lines you can't cross!" Nagisa responds. She doesn't want Okazaki on the basketball team that bad?

"I need Okazaki no matter what!" Youhei shouts. "It must be him!"

Nagisa gives me a sympathetic, sad look and I blink. Is something wrong? She shakes her head, then turns to look back at Youhei.

"You can't! Since...Since Okazaki-san is my boyfriend!" Nagisa blurts out, and my eyes widen.

"Eh?!" Okazaki, Youhei and I all gasp in unison. Still, it isn't that surprising. I had a feeling it would happen at some point.

"So I can't give Okazaki-san to you!" Nagisa trembles.

"Dang it...Since when!?" Youhei demands. "Come on, Rin-chan, we're going to have to find someone else immediately." Without waiting for my reply, he dashes off again, still gripping my hand, and drags me along with him. While we're running, we pass a small girl with dark hair in pigtails carrying a suitcase.

Finally, we return to a normal pace and walk back to his apartment.

"What are we going to do now? I have to have Okazaki on my team..." Youhei mutters. I squeeze his hand.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way. There are plenty of people who can play basketball in the school, right?" I reply.

Youhei sighs. "Yeah...but Okazaki's one of the best."

I frown. I should probably head back to the gym tomorrow and practice lots and lots, so maybe I can help Youhei in some way...

Suddenly, I hear Youhei gasp.

"Nagisa and Okazaki?! What are you two doing in my room!?" Youhei exclaims in horror, clutching the doorframe. I peer into his room and see Nagisa and Okazaki are both standing in his room. "You weren't possibly going to...make this your nest of love?!"

I snort and cover my mouth with my hands to keep from laughing.

"No! No!" Nagisa stammers, blushing.

"Never mind that, Sunohara. You have a visitor." Okazaki says, stepping aside to reveal the same small girl with pigtails I had seen earlier.

"I'm Mei Sunohara. Nice to meet you." The girl smiles. "Sunohara"? Is this his litter sister I've heard about?

"Why are you here?!" Youhei demands.

"I told you over the phone I was coming to visit." Mei replies.

"Phone?" Youhei repeats, his eyes still wide.

"Ah, about that, I have something to say." Okazaki says.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You told Mei-chan and Nagisa-chan that You-chan was GAY?!" I repeat, my hands slamming on the table.

"You told Mei and Nagisa I was GAY?!" Youhei says at the same time.

Okazaki shrugs. "That's how the flow of the conversation went."

I glare at him.

"You're so horrible! I seriously thought Sunohara-san was in love with Okazaki-san, and that Rin-chan was going to get her heart broken." Nagisa says. Okazaki shrugs again.

"I can't believe onii-chan has a _girlfriend_! He's so helpless! And she's pretty, too! Did you have to pay her, onii-chan?" Mei says, and Youhei gasps, glaring at her._  
_

"I didn't have to _pay _her! Why is that surprising!?" Youhei exclaims.

I giggle. "Well, that's true. But of course You-chan didn't have to pay me! I lo-...really like your big brother, Mei-chan!" I smile. No one seemed to notice my slip-up.

"Wow! Amazing! I never thought that was possible!" Mei gasps, and Youhei pouts. I pat him on the head.

"There, there, my helpless You-chan~" I giggle.

"Oh yeah, I went through the trouble of buying this, but I guess it's a waste." Mei says, reaching into her suitcase to grab something. She shows Youhei what looks like some kind of statue.

"Do you want this, onii-chan?" Mei asks.

"No, I don't!" Youhei replies angrily, and I sigh, rolling my eyes. "Mei, you can't stay here!"

"What? Why not?" Mei replies sadly.

"You-chan, that's a bit harsh..." I murmur.

"I know! Mei-chan can stay with me!" Nagisa jumps up, then turns to Mei. "Is that okay, Mei-chan?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Are you sure it's okay, Nagisa?" Youhei asks as Okazaki, Nagisa, and Mei leave the building.

"Yes. I would love to get to know Mei-chan better." Nagisa replies.

"I'd like to let her stay, but I can't let a girl stay in a boys' dorm, so let's accept Furukawa-san's offer for tonight." Misae says.

"Yes!" Mei smiles.

"Nagisa, thanks for taking care of my sister." Youhei says, scratching the back of his head.

"Of course!" Nagisa smiles, and with that, the three of them head out.

"Mei-chan seems sweet." I comment as I head back into Youhei's room.

"She is not sweet! She thought I had to pay you for you to be my girlfriend..." Youhei sighs, flopping on his bed. "No one payed you, right?"

I laugh, and sit down next to him. "Of course not! You know...I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world to have you. I still think that." I say, blushing and playing with my hair.

"You really think that?!" Youhei exclaims, sitting up.

"Y-Yeah..." I stammer.

"Rin-chaaaaan~~~!" Youhei says, hugging me tightly.

"Eep! You-chan, you're squishing me!" I whimper, and he pulls away.

"Sorry about that." Youhei laughs.

"Oh yeah, You-chan, do you...um..." I stammer. "Can I borrow your jacket for a little while longer?"

He blinks. "S-Sure, if you want."

I smile. "Thank you, You-chan!"

Youhei blushes and looks away, then turns to look back at me. "S-Should I take you home now?"

"Okay!" I smile, putting Youhei's jacket on.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, we decide to ask Kyou if she wants to help us with the basketball match.

"Okay!" Kyou replies, winking.

"That was fast!" Youhei exclaims, and I giggle.

"When's the match? Will we really get Koumura-sensei if we win?" Kyou asks.

"It's set for tomorrow. I made the Choir Club promise to come watch. The rest is up to how things go." Youhei replies.

"Not a concrete setup, if you ask me." Okazaki comments.

"Let's give it our best shot. Youhei, go buy me a fruit milk." Kyou demands.

"Wait, I'm an errand boy!?" Youhei demands.

"Basketball comes from team play, right? We need a slave-I mean...a player who follows the master-slave relationship-I mean, listens to the team leader." Kyou replies, and Youhei balls his fists, about to say something when I step in front of him.

"No one's taking advantage of You-chan." I say, staring at Kyou. She stares back, then shrugs.

"Wait, why are you the leader?!" Youhei demands to Kyou. Okazaki puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Sunohara." Okazaki says.

"Don't stop me, Okazaki! Both basketball and soccer are about teamwork! We can't possible play as a team with a hierarchical relationship." Youhei shouts.

"I agree with You-chan! I'm not letting you guys use him!" I huff, but no one seems to be listening.

"Get me a milk coffee, okay?" Okazaki asks.

"We have a hierarchical relationship as well?!" Youhei shouts. "Damn you all! I hate hierarchical relationships!" And with that, Youhei storms away.

"Honestly..." I roll my eyes. "You-chan! Wait!" I dash after him. "I'm not letting you be a slave, okay?"

Youhei sniffles, tears in his eyes. "Really, Rin-chan?"

I sigh. "Of course. I'm the only one who gets to use you." I giggle, and Youhei gasps, and I pat his head. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. No one's using you. I'll make sure of it." I wink. "Come on, let's get back to class."

OoOoOoOoOoO

During lunch time, Tomoyo walks over to where Youhei, Okazaki and I are eating. Youhei screams and jumps out of his seat, and I stand in front of him, crossing my arms and staring at her. I don't have anything against her, really, but I don't want Youhei to get hurled out of a window again.

"What's with that reaction?" She mutters, staring at the two of us.

"Tomoyo! What are you here for?" Okazaki asks.

"There's something I wanted to tell you." Tomoyo replies. "So let me join you guys. From what I've heard, Okazaki you're habitually late. Sunohara, it was like that for you too until your girlfriend went to pick you up every morning. Anyway, as your friend I can't let that be. If you're a senior, you should have an understanding of what you're doing."

"Wait! Why do you get to eat lunch with us?!" Youhei demands, and Tomoyo rolls her eyes, about to respond when Kyou comes bursting into our room.

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing in other people's classrooms?" Kyou shouts, walking right over to Tomoyo, and my eyes widen.

"I don't think there's anything in the school code that prohibits eating in others' classrooms." Tomyo responds.

"But that doesn't mean you can start a ruckus! Think of the trouble you cause to your surrondings!" Kyou retorts. I sigh. This can't be good.

"Why are you so mad? Could it be that you like Okazaki?" Tomoyo asks.

Kyou's face immediately turns the same shade as mine whenever I'm with Youhei. "Wh-what? O-Of course not! That's ridiculous!" She replies. Yep, she totally likes Okazaki.

"Do you have someone you're dating right now?" Tomoyo asks Okazaki.

"No, I don't! And why are you even asking this?" Okazaki responds.

"I see. Then there aren't any girls out there who would feel annoyed to see me with you. There's no problem." Tomoyo says, and Kyou twitches.

"Oh, god! Anyway!" Kyou shouts, and grabs Okazaki. "He made a promise with me! You're not blameless in this, either! I told you to have lunch with me, and what are you doing, eating bread? Come with me!" And with that, she drags Okazaki out of the room, leaving me with Youhei and Tomoyo.

"And I had only begun the conversation. A pity." Tomoyo mutters.

"You're not actually interested in Okazaki, are you?" Youhei asks her.

"No, I do not feel I am leaning that way. But...I see...maybe this emotion can be described as "interested." And with that, Tomoyo leaves the room as well.

"Well, that was weird." I murmur, looking at Youhei. "Are you okay?"

He blinks. "Y-Yeah...You didn't have to protect me or anything like that..."

I laugh and wink. "When I said I was going to protect you, I meant it." I reply, and grab some rice and stick it on Youhei's cheek. "Mwahaha!"

"How is this protecting me?!" Youhei demands, and tries to rub the rice off. However, just like the ice cream, he misses it, and I smile, lean over and kiss his cheek, getting the rice off.

"There we go." I giggle, and Youhei blushes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Did Mei really say that she'll come see the match?" Youhei asks Okazaki.

"Yeah. Looks like she's really worried about you." Okazaki replies.

"Yeah? Then why won't she show up at all today? I bet she doesn't care about her brother." Youhei says.

"What? You're sulking since she doesn't care about you?" Okazaki says. Misae's cat is sitting in my lap, while I scratch it's chin and giggle.

"I bet she just came for a visit. She's always loved the city." Youhei mutters.

"You can't call this place a city." Okazaki responds.

"Compared to where I'm from, it is. That said, it's a lot better than having her all over me." Youhei replies, laughing.

"It's totally obvious your lonely. Look, you've got Rin here." Okazaki says, but I'm not paying attention. The cat is soooo cute! It purrs as I scratch it's ears.

"Rin-chan's all over the cat!" Youhei wails, and at that moment there's a knock at the door, snapping me back into the present.

"Hello!" It's Mei. Youhei goes over to open the door.

"Ah, Okazaki-san, Rin-san, I knew I'd find you here." Mei says.

"What? Me?" Okazaki and I say at the same time.

"Yes. Sanae-san and Akio-san said they wanted the two of you over for dinner. Oh, and onii-chan..." Mei turns to Youhei.

"This gets in my way, so let me leave it here." She hands him the weird statue from before. "Are you coming?" Mei asks us.

I turn to look at Youhei, and see he's obviously upset. "I'll have to decline. I'll stay here with You-chan." I smile, and Youhei's eyes widen.

"Huh? Well, okay then. Bye!" Mei says, and with that, she's out the door.

"Rin-chan? You really want stay with me?!" Youhei gasps, and throws his arms around me. "Thank yoooouuu!"

I laugh. "You'd be a lot more fun. I hope Nagisa-chan's parents don't get upset though. Do you have anything for dinner?"

Youhei laughs nervously. "Umm..." He motions to the piles of junk food he has set out, and I sigh.

"Geez, You-chan..." I mutter, and look through the pile. "Hmm...Ramen cups, that should work." And I grab two ramen noodle cups and pour hot water in them, humming, and wait for the noodles to set. "Do you have anything to drink?" I find a couple of soda cans, then giggle. "How do you live like this?" I mutter, poking his forehead. "Oh, the ramen!" I walk back and set them on the table, then hand him a can of soda.

"Dinner is served." I giggle.

"Itadakimasu!" We say at the same time, and Youhei eats some of the noodles.

"Huh...I never knew ramen could taste so good..." He says, then glances at me, causing me to blush.

"I-It's j-just a regular cup of ramen..." I stammer, slurping some of the noodles. But he's right. They do taste better, for some reason, even though it's the same old boring kind I've had hundreds of times. It tastes so much better, being near Youhei.

"Rin-chan, thanks for staying with me. Okazaki was right...I guess I was kind of lonely." Youhei says, blushing, and stares at the table. I blink, then smile and walk over to him, pecking his cheek.

"I'll always stay with you. I-I just hope I'm not imposing..." I stammer.

He shakes his head. "Of course you're not! I'm really glad you stayed. Really, really glad." Youhei smiles, and my heart skips a bit.

"You-chan..." I murmur, blushing, and sit back down, sipping some of my soda. "What do you normally have for dinner?"

"Um, usually whatever I have..." Youhei replies, laughing.

I sigh. "I'm going to have to start coming by and making you proper dinners then, huh?"

"Yes, please!" Youhei smirks. After we finish the ramen cups and soda, Youhei takes me home.

"Thank you again for staying with me, and for the dinner." He says, his arm around my shoulders.

I blush. "It wasn't anything, really! I'm glad I got to stay with you."

"I'm glad, too." Youhei says, and hugs me tightly. He kisses me, leaving me with that warm sensation, and I bounce around my house when I'm inside.

"You came in late." My mother says as I walk in. I'm smiling like an idiot, and I can't stop.

"I was at my boyfriend's apartment." I reply, glancing up at her.

"What did you do?" She asks suspicously. I sigh.

"We had ramen cups. That's it." I say, my smile fading. "I'm going to go take a bath."

Without waiting for a response, I go upstairs. I still have the fluttery feeling inside, so I bounce around my room like a rabbit, squealing. I made him dinner! Well, okay, it wasn't dinner. It was ramen. But stiiiilll! Kyaaaaa!

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Listen! We must win today's match!" Kyou shouts.

"You're so pumped up." Okazaki comments.

"Did something happen?" Youhei asks.

"She was criticized by one of the basketball club members." Ryou says.

"Yeah, he said 'You're so pathetic to team up with those bottom-of-the-barrel guys.' God, he pisses me off! Tomoya, is it against the rules to slam a ball into an opponent's face?" Kyou yells.

"Yeah, it is." Okazaki replies.

"Kyou-chan's really intimidating." Kotomi whimpers, and I cling to Youhei.

"Yeah, she is!" I say. "But I can't say I don't feel the same way. No one calls my You-chan bottom-of-the-barrel! You-chan, make sure to crush them today!"

He nods and winks, striking a pose. "I'll do just that!"

I smile and kiss his cheek. "Here, a good luck kiss. Make sure you don't get hurt, okay! Be careful! Don't do anything dangerous!" I fret, and Youhei rolls his eyes.

"I'll be fine. I promise. Cheer me on, okay?" Youhei waves and walks to the center of the gym, where Okazaki and Kyou are.

"Is it all right for me to be here?" Mei asks Nagisa, as she comes to stand next to us.

"It's all right. Everyone's focused on the court, so no one will see us here." Nagisa replies.

"Um, who might you be?" Ryou asks.

"I'm Youhei Sunohara's little sister, Mei. Thank you for taking care of my brother." Mei says.

"Nice to meet you." Kotomi bows.

"Everyone, the match is starting!" Nagisa says. My eyes widen and I stare at the court. The whistle blows, and Okazaki immediately runs, dribbling the ball, and passes it to Youhei. I bite my lip, my fists tightening in anticipation. He throws it to Kyou, who easily tosses it into the net.

"All right!" She shouts.

"Good job!" I call, and everyone else claps beside me.

Kyou passes the ball to the guy on the other time, and he dribbles it around her, but she blocks him. Youhei stands in front of him as he tries to toss it into the net. It bounces off the rim, and I cheer. Okazaki catches it, dribbles it, passes it to Youhei, who passes it to Kyou, and once again she makes a basket.

"Woooo!" I cheer, clapping my hands and bouncing. "Keep it up!"

In the next round, Okazaki passes it to Youhei. He's blocked by a guy from the other team, but easily swerves around him, and shoots it into the net.

"Yooouu-chaaan!" I cheer. He really is amazing! I bite my lip, my eyes wide, my face blushing. Youhei winks at me, and I swear I could faint. Geez, I sound like some kind of crazy fangirl...but Youhei makes me want to swoon.

He makes yet another basket, and Kyou makes one quickly after. However, a guy from the another team makes a basket, and everyone beside me groans.

"Keep going! You can do it!" I shout. Please, don't let Youhei's effort go to a waste! Kyou makes another basket, and we cheer even harder.

"KYOU-SAMA! YOU'RE SO COOL!" I whirl around to see a bunch of girls screaming Kyou's name, holding a sign that says "Kyou-sama, fight!". Kyou blushes, and I giggle. That gives me an idea.

"YOUHEI-SAMA! YOU'RE AMAZING!" I shout, and Youhei blushes hard as I say this, and I giggle. "Fight!"

Kyou makes another basket, and with that, the freshmen from the other team switch with the starters. I notice Youhei's looking exhausted, and he's drenched in sweat.

"You-chan..." I murmur. One of the men from the other team swings past Okazaki, Youhei, and Kyou, and he easily makes a basket. My face falls, but I shake my head.

"Fight! Youhei-sama! Kyou-san! Okazaki-kun!" I call out, pumping my fists in the air.

However, Kyou misses the next basket, and the guys from the other team grab it, dribbling it away. They make two more baskets.

"Dang it..." I mutter.

"Two minutes left!" Nagisa shouts.

"Don't give up!" I call.

"Sunohara-san can't keep up!" Ryou murmurs. _Crap! You-chan, don't push yourself too hard!_

"Twenty seconds left!" Nagisa wails.

"EVERYONE! YOU CAN DO IT!" Mei yells.

"YOU-CHAN!" I call, clasping my hands together. Okazaki falls to the ground, the ball still in his hands.

"Okazaki-san! Shoot!" Nagisa screams, and Okazaki tosses the ball into the air.

Time seems to slow down as it slowly falls over the net, bouncing across the rim...

Will it make it!? My eyes widen, and everyone beside me gasps.

It makes it through!

"YAY!" We all cheer, and Youhei sits down, smiling. I run over to him and throw my arms around him, hugging him tightly, despite the fact he's drenched in sweat.

"Amazing! Amazing! You're amazing!" I say, my eyes wide. I could almost cry, I'm so relieved, and impressed. I open my mouth to say something else when someone shouts.

"Hey! What's going on in here?!"

"Crap! That's Oogami! Run!" Youhei says, standing up, and grabbing my hand. I giggle, running with him, my heart racing. I feel giddy. Once we're a safe distance from the gym, I squeezes Youhei's hand.

"Wait! Slow down!" I say, and he turns around, panting. "We need to get you some water, or something!" I fret. "And a towel, and you need to change, and oh my gosh you pushed yourself too much, oh my gosh, oh my gosh-"

Youhei laughs, wiping sweat off his forehead. "Calm down. I'll be fine."

I huff. "I'll decide that! Hold on, I'm going to go get you some water and a towel, while I'm doing that, you go change, okay? Meet back here."

I run back into school, going to a vending machine and grabbing some water, and then grabbing a few paper towels from the bathroom. I run at top speed back outside, where Youhei already is, changed back into his uniform. He's still sweating and panting though.

"Honestly...you're too amazing..." I laugh, wiping his forehead with the towels and handing him the water. "How do you feel? You're probably exhausted...we need to sit down somewhere." He doesn't argue this time, and drinks the water, while I pull him to a bench.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life." I say. "You were...incredible. Are you okay?"

"Was it really? I am pretty amazing, though. I am exhausted, but you know, I feel better with you here." Youhei smirks, raising his eyebrow. I blush.

"D-Don't p-push yourself like that a-again, okay?" I huff, blushing hard. Youhei just winks at me, and I sigh, about to say something else, when I realize Youhei's staring at me.

"W-What is it? Do I have something on my face?" I ask.

Youhei smirks again. "Yeah...You do." He leans in, putting one hand on my cheek and using his other hand to hold my hand, and he kisses me. My eyes widen, and then I close them. There it is again. That incredible, gentle, warmth...I feel like I could just melt right now.

"Got it." Youhei pulls away, blushing a little, and my face is on fire.

I suddenly remember what Yukine said, from her fortune telling book. _You've been trying to say something to a loved one, but you haven't gotten the opportunity. If you say it soon, all will go well._

Biting my lip, I take a deep breath, staring at the ground. "You-chan. I...I need to say something." I stammer and he glances at me.

"Go on." Youhei says, leaning back in the bench, looking curious, and a little worried.

The fact that my face is so red tomatoes would be jealous, and the fact my heart is pounding a thousand miles a minute isn't helping. "You-chan...I...I'm in love with you, okay? I love you." I hide my face with my hands. "I love you, Youhei."

**Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for the next chapter~**

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	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you so, so, so much KittyKatLover9000 for your kind review! It made me smile! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter~!**

I peek at him from my hands, and see his eyes are wide, and his mouth is partly open.

"I'm sorry...I had to say it. I don't expect you to say anything in return, though, so don't wo-"

And before I can finish what I'm saying, Youhei kisses me again, then pulls away too soon, smirking.

"You talk too much, Rin-chan. I love you." Youhei says, and now it's my turn to stare with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"You-chan..." I murmur, when there are footsteps heading towards us.

"You two!" Kyou shouts, rolling her eyes. "After school clubs have ended. You two should probably get home."

I blink and look at the sky. It's starting to fade to a pale orange, and I jump up. "Your little sister's going home today, right, You-chan?" I say, grabbing his hand.

"Oh crap, that's right!" And, waving to Kyou, the two of us dash to the train station where Mei waits.

"Thank you so very much, everyone! And thank you, Rin-san, for taking good care of my onii-san. Please continue doing so." Mei says, bowing, and I blush a little.

"Of course! I promise!" I say, and turn to glance at Youhei.

"It would have been nice if you could have stayed longer." Okazaki says to her.

"Both Dad and Mom were saying that you should come again." Nagisa says.

"Mei, didn't I do great on the court?" Youhei asks, and I roll my eyes.

"I remember you weren't much use in the end." Mei teases "But you looked cool!"

"Y-Yeah?" Youhei exclaims, and I smile.

"I couldn't stay long this time, but I'll find some time and come again. I'll see you all again!" Mei bows again, and walks away.

"Take care!" I call after her, and wave.

"Watch yourself on the way home." Youhei says, and Mei sighs.

"Yes!" She replies, going on the escalator and waving.

"There she goes." Youhei says, looking a little sad. "That was fast."

"But she promised...that she'll come back soon." Nagisa points out.

"You know there were times when the three of you looked like a family." Okazaki says, which completely catches me off guard.

"E-Ehhh?!" I stammer, blushing hard.

"A family, huh..." Youhei glances at me and half-smiles, causing me turn even more red.

"W-We're too young to think of that sort of thing!" I huff, turning around to hide my blushing face. "L-Let's get going!" I hear Okazaki laughing behind me, and I sneak a glance at Youhei. A family with him? Kyaaa! What the heck am I thinking?! I don't even know if we'll get that far.

"I wonder if the Choir Club will give us Koumura now." Youhei says, putting his arms back and still looking at me.

"Something will come out of this. Let's go." Okazaki says.

"Kyou-chan and the others should be waiting and have a celebration party ready." Nagisa says.

"What? They are? Where?" Youhei demands.

"In your room." Okazaki replies.

"Why mine?!" Youhei asks, and I giggle.

"I like being in your room, though." I say, and he blushes and turns away.

"You didn't know about it, Sunohara-san?" Nagisa asks.

"No, I didn't!" Youhei shouts, and I laugh.

"Come on then, You-chan, let's go!" I say, taking his hand, and running. Nagisa and Okazaki follow us.

Once we get to Youhei's room, Kyou, Ryou, and Kotomi are already in there, with a bunch of different food and drinks set out.

"Geez, took you long enough!" Kyou huffs as we come in.

"What the heck!? You have a party in my room without consenting me first?!" Youhei demands, walking over to Kyou. She shrugs.

"I didn't want to get my room messy." She replies.

"And that means you can get my room messy?!" Youhei shouts.

"Yep." Kyou says, turning away to talk to Okazaki.

"Don't worry, You-chan. If worse comes to worst, I'll clean your room again for you! It's the least I can do after you did amazing at that basketball match back there." I say to him and lean on him. "For now, try to enjoy yourself, okay?" I stick out my tongue.

"You're a life-saver, Rin-chan. Thank you. And hehe, I did pretty awesome, right?" Youhei says, smirking.

"That was the most amazing thing ever." I reply, blushing a little. "A-Anyway, let's see what they brought, okay?"

As I walk to the table where Kyou had set out stuff, I see Misae's cat, laying on Youhei's bed and cleaning itself. Suddenly, I remember what Yukine had said, that my lucky word was cat. She had been right about every single thing. And she said my lucky color was blue...What could that mean?

Sighing, I sit on his bed and pet the cat, smiling to myself. However, this time, instead of allowing me to pet it like it usually does, the cat turns around and hisses at me, biting my finger. I jump up in surprise, and my eyes widen as scarlet blood falls from my finger.

"Crap..." I mutter and am about to walk outside of Youhei's room to the bathroom, when he stops me and grabs my hand.

"What happened?" Youhei asks, looking panicked.

"Huh? Oh, Misae-san's cat bit me..." I laugh nervously and scratch the back of my head. "I guess it didn't want to be pet?"

"That's weird...her cat loves you...Hold on, let me help you." And with that, he takes me downstairs to where the nurse for the apartment is.

"No one's here...One minute..." Youhei says, and I wait by the sink where he left me while he goes to rummage through the cabinets. He comes back over to me, carrying a band-aid and disinfectant cream.

"Sorry...I'm no where near as good at this as you are." He says as he holds my hand under the sink water. I burst out laughing. "What's wrong?!"

I wipe my eyes and smile. "Almost the exact same thing happened a while ago, with you and me. Do you remember? When you cut your hand on the knife...that time you were carving a sculpture...why were you doing that again?"

Youhei's eyes widen. "I remember that. Damn, that hurt so bad...you saved me back there. And I don't even remember why I was doing that..." Youhei dabs the cream on my finger and puts the band-aid on it.

"But, being bitten by a cat is nothing compared to stabbing yourself with a knife." I point out, looking at him shyly. "You're really brave."

He laughs. "Not brave, clumsy." Youhei says.

"You scared the heck out of me when you did that, though." I say, raising my eyebrow. "Seriously, don't ever hurt yourself like that again."

"Yes, ma'am." Youhei salutes, and we both laugh. We're in the nurses office, all alone. I can remember that time perfectly. That was before we were dating, though. So I couldn't have been able to do something I can do now...

"Thank you, You-chan!" I smile, and lean in a little.

"Anything for my beloved Rin-chan~" He replies, leaning in as well. I tilt my head, and I can feel Youhei's familiar, warm embrace wrap around me. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, pounding in my ears, and every part of me is buzzing, tingling. It was like electricity was running through me. It feels like I could melt, or faint, or something, but his arms are holding me up. It feels like we could stay like this forever, an eternity until-

"Riiiin-chaaan! Sunoharaaa-saaan!" Nagisa calls, and we jump away from each other, my face on fire, and I'm left once again breathless. "There you are! O-Oh, did I interrupt something?!" She gasps, noticing the two of us staring at each other, both blushing.

I laugh. This is what happened the other time at school, when Youhei cut himself with the knife, wasn't it? Except we hadn't done anything like kiss...

I'm left with a warmth filling me, and I grab Youhei's hand, interlacing our fingers and walk towards Nagisa. "Sorry, we're coming!" I say, smiling. I can't stop smiling. I can't stop.

"Rin, what the heck were you two doing down there? That's the biggest smile I've seen on your face in a while." Kyou comments as we walk into the room. "Youhei, what did you do to her?!"

"U-Um w-we..." Youhei stammers, and I giggle. I turn to look at Youhei's bed and see the cat's staring at me. Cat...my lucky word was cat...I just kissed Youhei, because I got bitten by a cat?! So in a way, that's lucky, right?

"Help meeee, Kyou-saaan! I can't stop smiling!" I wail, grabbing her hands. I try to force my smile to go away, but it's stuck. "Uwaaah! You-chan! It's your fault!" I giggle, clinging to him.

"My fault?! How?!" Youhei demands, and I laugh.

"Your fault for making me smile!" I huff, crossing my arms and trying not to laugh even more.

Youhei sighs, and rolls his eyes, and I turn to look at him, my eyes locking on to his ocean blue ones, when I suddenly jump up and gasp.

"You-chan! Your eyes are _blue_!" I exclaim, and he stares at me.

"You just noticed that now?!" He demands.

"No, of course not! I noticed it before! I mean, it's not like I would stare at you for hours or anything! Geez!" I huff.

"I never mentioned anything about you staring..." Youhei laughs, and I blush.

"Look! Flying cat!" I shout as Misae's cat hops up onto his shelf.

"What? Where?!" Youhei says, turning away from me, and I let out a sigh of relief. The real reason I pointed out Youhei's eye color is because Yukine said my lucky color was blue! Aaaand I'm definitely over-thinking things.

"Anyways, congratulations to Kyou-chan, Okazaki-san, and Sunohara-san for their victory in the basketball match!" Nagisa says, clapping. I join along, cheering.

"Nice job, everyone!" I say, clapping along with everyone else.

"Cheers!" We all say, and knock our soda cans together. For the next couple of hours, we play around, joking and teasing each other, eating the food Kyou and Ryou had brought, until finally it's late at night.

As promised, I clean up the trash left around by everyone, quickly tossing it away.

"Hey, You-chan..." I murmur, sitting down with him on his bed, my heart racing. "Have you...have you, um, thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"The future?" He repeats, looking at me. "Hmm...I figured I'd just go alone with whatever happens."

I bite my bottom lip nervously, fidgeting slightly. "Y-You know what Okazaki-kun said earlier? Well, um, have you ever thought about...having a...family? I-I mean, you know, getting married...I mean-I mean, um...Dang it! I'm no good at this..." I sigh, falling back, my face heating up.

"A family?" Youhei says, looking at me and raising his eyebrows. "Are you trying to give me some kind of hint?"

I shoot up, immediately turning red. "N-N-No, o-of course n-not!" I stammer, flustered. "I-I j-just wondered..."

Youhei laughs at my embarrassment, poking my cheek. "I guess I haven't really thought deeply about that stuff yet. "Hmm...what about you?"

I bring my knees to my chest. "I...I've always thought it would be nice...I...would want a family." I say shyly. "B-But, it's kind of early to think about that stuff..."

"It would be nice, wouldn't it?" Youhei replies, looking at me with an odd, but warm expression.

"Wh-what's that look for?!" I blush, looking away.

"N-Nothing!" Youhei stammers, and I glance at him, noticing he's blushing as well. "I-I should take you home now!"

"Y-Yes!" I reply, and stand up. Youhei stands up and takes my hand, interlacing our fingers, and together we head out the door, my heart pounding in my ears.

_My future with You-chan...could it happen?_

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Share the advisor?" Nagisa asks.

"Yes. Um...we watched yesterday's match, and the three of us discussed the matter after that." Sugisaka replies.

"How about we ask Koumura-sensei to be the advisor for both clubs?" Rie suggests. Nagisa's face breaks into a smile, and we all let out a sigh of relief. Looks like Youhei's plan had worked, although not exactly in the way he planned.

"This is great, Nagisa!" Okazaki says.

"The Theater Club is back now!" Ryou smiles.

"Yes!" Nagisa says.

"You-chan, you can be useful at some times, huh?" I tease, patting him on the back.

"H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Youhei exclaims, and I laugh, rolling my eyes.

"Nothing, You-chan." I giggle as we walk to the student council room with everyone.

While Nagisa goes inside to talk with them, we wait outside anxiously.

"Our hard work will finally pay off!" I say, smiling.

Finally, Nagisa walks out of the student council room, however she's frowning, which I didn't expect.

"They rejected me." She says sadly, and my eyes widen.

"Why?!" Okazaki exclaims.

"We have an advisor and members too..." Ryou says.

"What the heck!?" Youhei shouts.

"The sharing of advisors isn't approved." Nagisa explains. "Club activity when the advisor is not present is prohibited, so it'd be like one day on, one day off."

"You said you'd be fine even if that's the case, right?" Okazaki asks.

"Yes. But they said there is no precedent, so..." Nagisa trails off.

"God. Why is our student council such a bureaucracy?" Kyou mutters.

Suddenly, Nagisa collapses, and Okazaki immediately runs over to her side and holds her.

"Nagisa!"

"Nagisa-chan!"

"Nagisa?!"

"Come on, we have to bring her home!" Okazaki says, and before waiting for any of us to reply, he starts running down the hallway, carrying Nagisa. We all exchange looks and then dash after him.

"Thank you so much for coming all this way." Nagisa's mother says as we drop her off.

"It's nothing; we're all her friends." Kyou smiles. With that, we wave to her parents and start walking away.

"I really hope Nagisa-chan will be okay..." I murmur.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Okazaki replies. "She has to be."

"They looked like very kind parents." Ryou comments.

"They said Nagisa-chan will be absent from school for some time." Kotomi says. "I'm worried."

"Without the president, I guess club activities will have to be off for a while." Kyou mutters.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What? Okazaki-kun, what are you doing here on time?" I ask, as I walk into class with Youhei. He's surprisingly earlier than we were.

"Tomoyo." He replies, and I tilt my head, then shrug. The conversation I had with Youhei last night is still fresh in my mind, and for some reason, I can't stop thinking about it.

"Oh yeah, Rin-chan." Youhei says, turning to me and poking my cheek.

"Hmm?" I ask, snapping out of my daze.

"Today, I'm going to take you on a real date. We've been so busy we haven't had a chance to go on another date..." Youhei's blushing as he says this, and I giggle.

"A real date? But wasn't that time at the arcade a real one?" I ask.

"Well, I-I wanted to take you out to dinner..." He says, fidgeting slightly.

"Out to dinner?" It's my turn to blush. "Th-That sounds perfect."

"R-Really?" Youhei says. "Well in that case, wear something nice~" He wink sat me, causing me to turn red.

"G-Geez..." I stammer. Something nice, huh? I don't really have anything like that...

oOoOoOoOoOo

I spend an hour digging through my clothes, trying to put together an outfit, and finally, I manage to find something. I brush my hair, then finally, I walk outside, where Youhei is waiting.

"Y-Y-You look a-amazing." I manage to stammer. He's wearing a white tuxedo, and he looks _really good._ What did I just say!? Ignore that!

"Same goes to you." Youhei winks. I notice he's blushing, and I smile to myself, while he takes my hand.

"So where were you planning to go?" I ask him as we walk down the sidewalk, Youhei leading me.

"It's a place I go to a lot." He replies. "You'll see when we get there~"

"Okay!" I smile. I look up at the sky. It's fading to orange, and I can see contrails in the sky. There's a slight breeze, and I shiver a little.

Youhei turns to look at me. "Are you cold?" Without waiting for an answer, he puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer, causing me to blush. "How about now?" He says with a smirk.

"B-Better!" I reply, staring at the ground. Suddenly, I get a little brave, so I wrap my arm around his waist. I feel Youhei tense a little, then relax almost immediately after. I realize I'm not cold at all now, and I'm filled with a warmth that I always get when I'm with Youhei.

"We're here!" Youhei says, jolting me out of my thoughts, and I glance up and see we're at a restaurant, that looks a little run-down.

"So this is where you go all the time?" I ask, staring at the building.

"Yep! Although it's a little expensive, so students tend to stay away from it." He responds, and before I can reply, he squeezes my hand and takes me inside.

The lighting's slightly dim, and there aren't very many people inside.

"Table for two!" Youhei says to the waiter, and he leads us to a table. The two of us sit down, and before the waiter even hands us the menus, Youhei says,

"I'll have the pork cutlet bowl."

The waiter blinks and writes it down, about to hand me my menu, when I blurt out "Um, I'll have the same thing."

After a couple of minutes, I feel something kick my foot, and I jump up, startled, then glance at Youhei and roll my eyes. Is this tradition now, our something? I kick him back, biting my lip to keep from laughing. We keep doing this, staring at each other and trying to make the other laugh until the waiter comes and sets the food down. We're both so intent in this that we don't even realize he sets it down until there's an "ahem".

We both look at each other and burst out laughing, and the waiter walks away slowly, which causes us to laugh even more.

"Geez, You-chan, you really _are _a child~" I tease.

"You did it back!" Youhei replies, huffing, and taking a bite of his food.

I roll my eyes and stare warily into the bowl, then eat some of it. My eyes widen. "It's good!" I exclaim.

"Right? Right?" Youhei says, smiling. Staring at him, I take some from his bowl and eat it. "H-Hey, you have your own bowl!"

"But it's more fun to steal it from you." I reply innocently, and with that, Youhei takes his chopsticks and steals some from mine.

"Hey! It's only fun when I do it!" I tease, and grab more from his.

And we spend the rest of the evening stealing food from each other and kicking each other under the table, and basically acting like kids.

"I'm stuffed, You-chan!" I groan, leaning on him as we walk out. "Who knew food from You-chan's bowl could taste so much better?"

Youhei sighs and flicks my forehead, keeping one arm around my waist. "Who's the child now?" He says as I close my eyes.

"Still you." I reply, giggling.

We sit down on a bench in the same park we've been to twice before now, and I wrap my arms around him, burying my face into his chest, and he strokes my hair, and I sink into his warmth, the night breeze blowing around us.

"Hey, You-chan..." I murmur.

"Mm?" He says.

"Can we stay like this forever?" I ask, blushing slightly, and peer up at him. He's blushing, too, and his arms wrap around me.

"Maybe~" Youhei replies. I smile and kiss his forehead, and we stay like that for a few minutes until Youhei starts yawning, and I have to poke his cheek to keep him awake, and I stand up, extending my hand, which he takes.

"Thank you so much for tonight, You-chan~" I murmur, as the two of us walk home.

"Anytime, anytime!" Youhei says. "I have the best taste when it comes to restaurants!" I roll my eyes as he says this.

I feel disappointed when we reach my house. I really wanted to stay with Youhei forever. When I turn to look at him, he's looking at me with the same warm expression he had on before when we were talking in his room. I blush hard and wave my hand in front of his face, and he jumps.

"You-chan?" I ask.

"S-Sorry!" Youhei says, then hugs me tightly.

"Thank you again for tonight..." I say softly. "Good night, You-chan!"

Youhei smiles his adorable smile, and kisses me. "Good night, Rin-chan~"

Once again, I'm left with a fluttery feeling in my chest as I walk inside, and I collapse on to my bed, my cheeks warm, and I squeal like an idiot, feeling happier than ever.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**

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**Review for a Nagisa plushie!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Good morning, Momoko-chan, Ume-chan, Yasu-chan!"

_Skip, skip, skip!_

"Good morning, Kyosuke-kun, Kei-chan, Eli-chan!"

_Skip, skip, skip!_

"Kya! Ha! Ha!" I giggle, twirling around in the halls. Youhei's beside me, and together, the two of us skip down the halls like a pair of idiots. But I don't mind at all!

_Love~!_

"And the happy couple arrives." Kyou rolls her eyes. "Do you have to act like complete idiots from some cheesy movie _every day_?"

Youhei and I turn to look at each other, blink, and reply in unison. "Yes!"

With that, Kyou sighs and walks to her classroom, leaving the two of us together. My heart is pounding, I'm smiling non-stop again, and I'm completely euphoric. It's almost like being on a sugar high.

Youhei flashes his million-watt smile at me, causing me to almost completely melt. I am not obsessed with him, geez! Of course, my euphoria causes me to act a little impulsive, so with that, I turn to face him.

"You-chan. I want you to come meet my family today. I want to tell you about them. Okay?" I say, grabbing both of his hands.

"Hmm? Okay. Will they be working today?" He asks.

I shake my head. "I-I don't think so..."

The bell rings, interrupting our conversation, and Youhei takes me to class.

Was that a good idea?

oOoOoOoOoOo

During lunch time, I'm almost freaking out. Ryou had suggested I make Youhei a bento, because she was also doing that for Okazaki. I decided to try that. Although, just like athletics, I'm horrible when it comes to the kitchen. I had tried to make it simple, with rice, onigiri, gari, and dumplings.

This was my first time ever making bento for someone else.

"U-Um, Y-You-chan..." I stammer walking towards him with the bento behind my back. "Take this!"

Youhei blinks and smirks when he takes the bento. "It's about time~"

I huff, blushing bright red. "W-What's that supposed to mean!?"

Youhei just laughs and takes a bite of the onigiri, then his eyes widen. In what? Surprise? Horror?

"D-Does it taste okay?" I say, playing with my hair, a nervous habit of mine.

"No. It doesn't taste 'okay'." He replies, and my face falls. "It tastes excellent! I've never had onigiri taste this good!"

"R-Really? I-I just m-made regular onigiri..." I reply, blushing hard.

Youhei blinks. "Well, it tastes amazing. Probably because you made it." He winks.

Youhei eats everything in the bento, insisting it was the best he's ever tasted, although I'm 90% positive he's only just saying that.

oOoOoOoOoOo

When we leave school that evening, we run into Okazaki, Tomoyo and a whole bunch of angry men.

"What's going on?!" I ask, running towards them.

"Tomoyo and I had to pass through their area the other day and now they're pissed about it." Okazaki replies, glaring at them.

"Looks like you guys are a little short-handed." Youhei comments, striding up to them with a smirk.

"You're just going to make things more complicated." Okazaki says to him, sighing.

"Your hands are too small to help, anyway." Tomoyo says.

"I-I happen to love You-chan's hands!" I blurt out, blushing. "B-But anyway, You-chan, don't get in a fight!"

"Hey, Rin-chan, come on. I can handle this." Youhei says, then turns to Tomoyo. "Yeah, we're usually at each other's throats but-"

"You're always just getting beaten up." Okazaki cuts him off.

"I do fight back on some occasions!" Youhei retorts, and I sigh.

"Whatever. Continue with what you were saying." Tomoyo says.

"Yeah, we're usually at each other's throats but...when we face those from other schools, we're united!" Youhei declares.

"You'll only get in the way." Tomoyo sighs.

"I promise I won't, so let me join you guys!" Youhei wails.

"You-chan, no! Please don't!" I say, balling my fists. "I-I have to protect you!"

"How long do you guys plan to keep this comedy show on?!" One of the guys from the other school shouts.

"What the hell, just get them all!" Another one yells.

"All right, leave it to me!" Youhei shouts, running into the crowd. I dash after him, without thinking, and throw myself in front of him.

My eyes widen, and before I know it, I get kicked by...Tomoyo? I slam into the ground, my entire body throbbing. I managed to protect Youhei though, right?

"Oww..." I mutter, my vision blurry, and I try to sit up.

"-chan! ...in-cha..! Rin-chan!" Someone's calling my name, and shaking my shoulders.

"Ow! Ow! What?!" I groan, rubbing my head. My vision clears, and I see a panicked Youhei grabbing my shoulders, shouting my name over and over again.

"Y-You-chan?" I ask.

"Sorry about that! My kick was aimed for Sunohara!" Tomoyo shouts, beating up people all around her.

Youhei lets out a sigh of relief. "Geez! When you said protect me, I didn't think you meant it literally! Idiot!" He says, flicking my forehead, and I giggle.

"Well that's a turn of events." I sigh. "Aren't you the idiot for trying to get into a fight?"

Youhei opens his mouth to respond when someone shouts, "HEY!"

All the kids from the other school run away at top speed as three teachers come running down towards us.

"What is this about?!" One of them demands, and Youhei's grip on me tightens. I shake my head and smile, then stand up in front of Youhei, putting on a placid expression while trying to shield him from view.

"Ri-" He starts, standing up.

"Shh!" I hush him. Youhei is about to respond, when once again, the teacher cuts him off.

"Okazaki, was it you again?" The teacher asks.

"No, this is my-" Tomoyo starts, but gets cut off by Okazaki.

"That's right. I started it. Those three over there were just bystanders. They had nothing to do with it." Okazaki says.

"You've got a record. You're sure to be suspended." The teacher replies. "You'd better be ready for the consequences."

With that, the teachers lead Okazaki back to school, with Tomoyo following them.

"W-What just happened?" I turn to Youhei.

He shrugs. "I have no clue." Youhei glances at me. "You're really too much sometimes."

"I said I'd protect you. I meant it. How many times do I have to say it?" I reply, blushing slightly.

Youhei stares at me, then throws his arms around me and hugs me tightly. "Rin-chan! I love you!"

This throws me completely off, and my eyes widen. Of course I'm not used to hearing him say it, since we only just recently said it.

"I-I love you too, You-chan!" I stammer, blushing. Youhei smiles, then he snaps as if he remembered something.

"Oh yeah, do you still want me to come over to your house?" He says, and my eyes widen, remembering what I had said earlier today. But I can't really back out of now.

"U-um, yeah!" I reply, and Youhei interlaces our fingers and together, we walk to my house. My mom's car is in the driveway, so that means she's home...

"I'm home!" I call as I step inside. The lights are off, and I sigh as I flick them on. "Mom?"

There's no answer, and stepping into my room (telling Youhei to wait in the kitchen), I find a note on my bed.

_Rin. I walked over to Kaede's. I'll be back around midnight._

I sigh as I walk back into the kitchen, crumpling the note and throwing it in the trash can. "My mom isn't home...I'm sorry." I say to Youhei.

"That's okay. It isn't your fault. Is your dad home?" Youhei asks, and I shake my head.

"Haruo..._Dad's_ usually never home." I reply.

"'Haruo'?" Youhei asks.

"My parents are divorced. Haruo's my step-father, but I don't usually call him dad...I guess I'm uncomfortable with it. My younger sisters are always at one of their friend's houses." I say, fidgeting a little.

"I-I'm sorry." Youhei says, noticing my uncomfortable expression.

"No, it's okay! You didn't know. You know, I didn't want you coming here before, because I was afraid my parents would mess things up...I'm not close to my mom at all, and my step-dad says things about me all the time." I murmur.

Youhei stares at me and pulls me into his arms, and kisses my forehead. "Let's go somewhere." He says, and without waiting for my response, he takes my hand and walks out the door.

"Somewhere?" I repeat.

"Yep. Somewhere." Youhei replies, winking at me. He doesn't explain further, so I let him drag me to wherever he had planned. A few minutes later, we end up at the arcade we had come to before for a date.

"The arcade?" I ask as we step inside.

"Yep! Do you remember when we came here before?" Youhei asks.

"Of course I remember! I still have the pictures!" I reply, blushing.

"I do too." Youhei says, looking embarrassed, and I giggle to myself, then look around.

"Hm? What's that? A fortune-telling machine? Is it new?" I ask, as I walk over to a game that I hadn't seen before.

"Oh yeah, I've seen these types of game before. You put your hand on the center, with another person's hand and it will tell you what your future with them will be like." Youhei explains. I turn to look at him.

"C-Can we do it?" I ask. Youhei blushes and nods, and put our hands in the center, and I select the option of _"couple"_.

We wait a few seconds, and a paper slip comes out of the machine. I take it, and read it.

_A perfect couple. You both love each other very much, and are protective of each other. You will face a few upcoming hardships, but you should be able to get through them together. As long as you two try your best for each other, you should be together for a long time._

I start blushing more as I read this, and hand it to Youhei.

"'Perfect couple', huh?" Youhei smirks and tucks it into his pocket.

"L-Let's go do something else!" I stammer, blushing, although I really like hearing us described as a "perfect couple". Hardships, huh? I hope they aren't anything too serious...

Youhei takes me to the claw machine, next.

"Do you see anything you want?" He asks, and striking a pose he says, "I can get whatever it is."

I giggle and roll my eyes. "When we came here before with everyone, you didn't do very good." I point out, and he makes a dramatic-hurt-expression, and I laugh, then peer into the machine.

"Hmm...hmm...oh my gosh! That cat is soooo cute!" I say, completely captivated by a little white cat plush with a red bow. "I-I mean, i-it's okay..."

Youhei laughs, then pulls out a few coins from his pocket. "I got this." He says. And the claw slowly reaches down...

Ten minutes later, Youhei kicks the machine for the twentieth time, insisting it's broken.

"You-chan, seriously, don't spend your money on me! It's fine! Let's go do something else!" I beg, but he still completely ignores me. "You-chaaaan!"

Youhei turns to look at me, a crazed expression on his face. "I...will...defeat this! Just one more time!" He says, and before I can stop him, he slips another coin into the machine.

I roll my eyes and lean up against another machine, then my eyes widen when he finally grabs the cat with the claw, and it drops into the slot. Youhei pulls it out, and hands it to me, smirking.

"It wasn't that hard at all~" He says, and I flick his forehead.

"Idiot! You really shouldn't have spent all that money on it! But..." I peck his cheek. "Thank you!"

Youhei blushes and gets a dreamy look on his face. "A-Anytime, my darling Rin-chan~"

Next, we go to a game I've never played before. I stand back and watch as Youhei strums furiously on a guitar-fish, looking like a complete idiot, but an adorable idiot all the same.

"What?! This thing is broken!" Youhei shouts as the screen flashes a 'YOU LOSE' in bold letters. He kicks the machine and I sigh.

"You-chan, you do realize whenever you lost at something doesn't mean the machine's broken, right?" I say, trying not to laugh at his frustration.

"But this one is _obviously_ broken!" Youhei insists, and before he kicks it again, I grab his arm, holding the white cat in my other hand, and drag him away.

Youhei now insists we play a racing game, since that's his best game. The two of us sit down next to each other, and the game starts. It's surprisingly a lot easier than I thought. Before I know it, I'm far ahead of Youhei, and end up winning.

"Uwaagh!? This game must be broken too!" Youhei huffs, crossing his arms and I laugh.

"You can't admit you lost to a girl?" I tease, poking his cheek.

"T-That's not it! It's just that one was broken!" Youhei replies, pouting, and I roll my eyes and kiss him.

His pout instantly turns into a dreamy smile, like before, and I squeeze his hand and giggle.

We get ice cream cones as the two of us walk home together with the night sky shining above us, stars glittering like diamonds.

"You always manage to make my days amazing." I say, sighing happily as I take a lick of my ice cream.

Youhei blushes and looks away. "I-It's nothing really~" He says, then suddenly there's a cold sensation on my cheek. I jump and try to rub it off when Youhei smirks and grabs my hand, then leans in and kisses my cheek.

"Payback for before." He winks. I blush super hard and bury my face into his shoulder, and he laughs.

"Geez, You-chan..." I sigh, as we reach my house.

Youhei pulls me into his arms, leans in, and I close my eyes, expecting to be kissed from him when there's a cold sensation touching my lips, and my eyes shoot open.

"Wh-what?!" I lick my lips, and taste ice cream, and Youhei's smirking, waving his ice cream around.

"You-chan..." I growl, and he puts his hands up, still smirking.

"Whoa there, feisty." Youhei says, and I bite my lip and smear ice cream on his forehead, then dash away.

"Good night, You-chan!" I giggle, running inside.

"RIN-CHAAAN!" I can hear him shout after me, and I close the door and run into my room, clutching my white cat to my chest.

_I love you, Youhei! _

OoOoOoOoOoO

When I go to pick up Youhei for school the next morning, I see a sight that I would never have expected to see in a million years.

"Pffft...Pfft...AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I burst into laughter as I go into his room to see Okazaki sitting next to a grumpy Youhei, wearing heart-decorated boxers on his head.

"Wh-what the heck?!" I laugh, leaning against the door frame and clutching my sides as I laugh.

"R-Rin-chan!" Youhei gasps, and rips them off his head.

I laugh so hard tears start coming out of my eyes as I go to sit down next to them.

"I told Sunohara you were here and he immediately jumped out of bed." Okazaki tells me.

"You're not going to tell her you put those on my head?!" Youhei shouts. He has a band-aid on his nose, and he looks a little beat up.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" I laugh, falling over.

Youhei starts laughing from my reaction, and Youhei wails.

"You're all horrible!"

"T-there there, You-chan...pfffft...HAHAHAHA!" I say, patting his head, trying to control my laughter, but completely failing. "I-I should have gotten a picture!"

"Rin-chaaaan!" Youhei cries.

"I-I'm sorry, Y-You-chan, it's just that was so hilarious!" I say, finally calming down a little, and try to catch my breath. "Why do you even have something like that?"

"I-I just thought..." Youhei trails off.

"Thought...?" I ask.

"Nevermind!" Youhei cries, and I roll my eyes and kiss his cheek.

"Come on, get dressed, we gotta get to school." I say, biting my lip as he walks away to try to keep myself from going into another laughing fit.

OoOooOoOoOoOoO

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much reading! **

**Please review! It means so much to me, and it helps me keep writing! Please tell me what you thought and if you want this story to keep going!**

**Stay tuned for the next chappie~**


	16. Chapter 16

"So Okazaki-kun ended up getting suspended, huh?" I ask Youhei as we walk to school.

"Yeah. Apparently he took the blame for Tomoyo's fight because he wants to make sure she can be the school president and get the Theater Club back together." Youhei explains. "Oh yeah, speaking of yesterday, how are you feeling? Since you, you know, took Tomoyo's kick..."

I laugh. "I'm fine! A little sore, but that's it. She really is pretty tough. I'm surprised you're still alive after you get beat up by her all the time."

"Of course I'm still alive! I mean, I usually just let her beat me up, so she thinks she's strong." Youhei replies haughtily, and I snort.

"Suuure. Okay." I say, rolling my eyes.

"I-I mean it! Really! I could totally beat her up if I wanted to." Youhei exclaims.

"While I'd love to see you beat her up, there's no way that's going to happen, and I'm not having you get hurt anytime soon." I say, staring at him.

Youhei opens his mouth to reply, and I dramatically put my finger on his lips and giggle. He closes his mouth and blushes, and I laugh as we walk to class.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"He got suspended instead of Sakagami-san..." Ryou repeats as Youhei tells everyone what happened to Okazaki.

"Really, he doesn't know how to keep himself out of trouble." Kyou murmurs, leaning back in her chair. The five of us are together in the Theater Club room.

"Will it be okay? Won't it affect his future?" Ryou asks.

"I'm very worried." Kotomi says. Youhei's staring out the window, and I go to stand beside him.

"The President is sick, and Tomoya is suspended. Will we be able to take part in the School Festival like this?" Kyou asks.

"We can't give up, though! For Nagisa-chan's and Okazaki-kun's sake, we _have _to make sure we take part in the School Festival!" I insist. I'm met with blank expressions, and Youhei puts his hand on my shoulder.

"You-chan..." I murmur and glance at him, then turns back to everyone else. "We can't give up, no matter what, everyone! In this case, this means we just have to work even harder for the two of them!"

Kyou laughs, and smiles. "You're like our own cheerleader, aren't you?"

I laugh, too, and soon everyone in the club room is laughing.

"Let's keep doing our best!" I cheer, pumping my fist in the air. "We can't give up, no matter what!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Once Youhei and I leave school, I decide that we should go and visit Nagisa and check up on her.

"I hope Nagisa-chan is okay..." I murmur as the two of us walk to her house.

"Her parents said she would only be gone for a few days, right? I'm sure she'll be able to come back to school soon." Youhei replies, squeezing my hands.

"Excuse us!" I say as I open the door. Nagisa's mother, Sanae, is standing at the counter, smiling as the two of us come in.

"It's been a while, Kimura-san, Sunohara-san." Sanae says, smiling and walking towards us. "Did you come to see Nagisa?" Youhei and I nod. "She's sleeping right now, but you could stay if you like."

I shake my head. "I don't want to be a bother." I smile. "Will Nagisa-chan be coming back anytime soon?"

Sanae smiles. "Nagisa should be coming back in a couple more days, hopefully. When she wakes up, I'll let her know you stopped by. I'm sure it'll make her very happy. Oh yes, would you like to try some new bread I made?"

I blink and take some of the bread she hands out, and takes a bite. I cough a little as the stale bread goes down my throat, the flavor almost moldy. Sanae looks at me with hopeful eyes, though, so I smile. "I-It taste good!" I stammer, then smirk and hand the bread to Youhei.

"Here, You-chan, have some~" I say, and he takes the bread and takes a huge bite, then his eyes widen and he looks like he's about to spit it out. "Doesn't it taste great?" I ask, giggling.

"This taste horri-" He looks at Sanae and sees her hopeful face. "Amazing! Amazing!"

Sanae smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm so glad!"

Youhei turns to look at me and glares at me, and I just look away and whistle, biting my lip to keep from laughing again.

With that, we wave to Sanae and head out of her bakery.

"That bread was delicious, right?" I say, smirking.

"Were you trying to poison me?!" Youhei demands, crossing his arms, but he starts to smile, too.

"Maybeeee~" I tease him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Aniki! Good work today!" Youhei walks over to Okazaki's desk and shouts this to him, and I snort.

"General Youhei-sama, sir, yes sir!" I say, saluting to him. We both laugh and Okazaki groans.

"Do you have to be so loud? I ate too much yesterday, so I have horrible heartburn." Okazaki mutters.

"Are you sure you have the time to lie around like that when Tomoyo's in big trouble?" Youhei says and points to one of the posters she had put around school. Someone had drawn over it and put things like 'Gang Girl' and 'Violent Tramp'. There are people all around us commenting about the poster.

"You see? So what are you going to do?" Youhei asks. Okazaki frowns, then suddenly snaps his fingers, and runs outside. Youhei and I look at each other and run after him.

"What? A match?" One of the members of the softball team repeats. Apparently, Okazaki thinks if Tomoyo wins a baseball match that can help boost her popularity back up.

"Yeah. If we lose, we'll pick up balls or do whatever you want us to do." Okazaki replies. The softball guy stares at him, then turns to walk away.

"Hold on just a moment, I'll talk to the others." He says.

"Will this really increase support?" Youhei asks as Okazaki turns back to us.

"It's the same idea as when we played basketball." Okazaki responds. "I'm sure it'll work."

"I'm excited to see You-chan play softball~" I giggle and poke his cheek.

"I've never done anything more than play catch." Tomoyo murmurs.

"Don't worry. We have the super athlete, Sunohara, with us." Okazaki tells her, and Youhei strikes a pose, and I burst out laughing.

"That makes me even more worried." Tomoyo says.

"He may look and act like an idiot, and well, he is an idiot, but he is really athletic." I tell Tomoyo, and Youhei gasps. Before he can respond, the softball guy runs back towards us.

"Okazaki! You got yourself a deal! But, under one condition. If you guys lose, we'll have Sakagami join the women's softball team." He says.

Tomoyo and Okazaki exchange a glance, then Okazaki nods at her.

"You've got it." She replies.

For the next couple of hours, I sit watching Tomoyo practice softball, Youhei shouting at her, piss ingher off, and then getting beat up by her throwing the ball constantly at his face.

"Owwww owwww owww..." Youhei groans and I sigh as I place band-aids on his face.

"You find a way to piss everyone off, huh?" I say, smiling half-way. He looks at me with a pitiful expression, and I roll my eyes and kiss his forehead.

"There we go. That should help you get better." I blush, turning away from him. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you before..."

Youhei tilts his head. "Help me? With what?"

I shuffle my feet and turn away. "T-The whole softball thing...you kept getting hit by Tomoyo. But, I can't say you didn't deserve it." I say, teasing him and hiding my blushing face.

"W-well, I was obviously just letting her hit me. I could've gotten out of the way if I wanted to." Youhei replies, crossing his arms, and I just sigh.

"What would you do without me, You-chan?" I roll my eyes and take his hand.

"I probably wouldn't be getting called an idiot twenty times a day." Youhei replies, glancing at me.

I flick his forehead. "You know you'd miss that~"

He shrugs. "Probably wouldn't." Although he's smiling a little as he says this.

"Come on, idiot." I smirk, and now he rolls his eyes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The very next day, Nagisa comes to school again.

"Nagisa-chan!" I let out a sigh of relief and hug her tightly. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"Welcome back! It's been a while!" Ryou says.

"I'm glad to see you better." Kotomi smiles.

"I'm sorry I worried you all." Nagisa says, and I shake my head.

"Don't apologize! We're just glad you're back! How do you feel now?" I ask.

"I'm feeling a lot better! Thank you for your concern." Nagisa replies. "Okazaki-san!" She walks over to him.

"Wh-what?" Okazaki asks.

Nagisa bows. "I'm sorry. I heard you got yourself suspended to make Sakagami-san the student council president. I have no clue how I should even begin to apologize to you."

"It's all right." Okazaki responds. Is he blushing? I giggle to myself. Those two really do make a cute couple. "It wasn't solely for your sake. I did it for the Theater Club."

"If you phrase it like that, it sounds condescending." Kyou points out, smiling.

"Ah, well..." Okazaki stammers. "Anyway, it's in the past. If you want to take responsibility, then help Tomoyo with her matches after school."

"Y-Yes!" Nagisa responds.

After school, the whole club goes outside to watch and support Tomoyo. I'm not paying that much attention, though. It doesn't seem like Kyou or Ryou are either. I frown a little. Unrequited feelings, huh...

What would I have done if Youhei didn't reciprocate feelings for me? I was incredibly lucky to find he liked me too...But, those feelings could fade in an instant, right? I mean, what chance do I possibly have? I'm nothing special...He could end up with feelings for someone else in the end. What would I do, then? Thinking this, I curl my knees to my chest, staring out in the distance, when there's a scream, and someone falls over.

"Nagisa!" Okazaki gasps, and I snap out of my daze. Nagisa's on the ground. It looks like one of the tennis balls from the court hit her. "Are you all right, Nagisa?!"

"I'm all right." Nagisa smiles weakly. "That was Sakagami-san's point, right?" Suddenly, she flinches in pain.

"We need to cool it. Someone needs to take her to the health center." One of the men from the tennis match says, and reaches towards her, but Okazaki puts his arm out in front of her. A protective gesture.

"Okazaki-san?" Nagisa asks, and he pulls his arm away.

"We need to go to the health center." Okazaki mutters.

"Y-Yes..." Nagisa stammers, and with that, Okazaki stands up, putting her around him and supporting her. Kyou and Ryou watch the two of them walk away, and I could feel a little ache in my heart. It must hurt to see the one you love, love someone else. I turn to Youhei, and suddenly I feel completely overwhelmed.

Kyou and Ryou burst into tears and hug each other and my eyes widen.

"You-chan..." I murmur, and wrap my arms around him.

"Rin-chan? What's wrong?" He asks, and wraps his arms around me.

I look up at him and smile. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're here..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Pop! Pop!_

Tiny streamers and confetti go flying in the air.

"You finally did it, Nagisa!" Kyou smiles and puts her arm around Nagisa.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of trying, the Theater Club finally became officially reestablished.

"Congratulations on the getting the Theater Club reestablished." Ryou says.

"I made lots of food to celebrate!" Kotomi adds, holding up a bento box packed with different foods.

"I knew we could do it!" I clap my hands and smile.

"Thank you very much. This is all thanks to your support." Nagisa says.

"I did do a lot, didn't I?" Youhei grins, striking a pose, and I hit him on the head.

"Don't get too full of yourself!" I say, rolling my eyes.

"Did you even do anything?" Kyou asks, and I laugh.

"I was the one playing the basketball match as well as the one helping with Tomoyo's election!" Youhei shouts, and I pat his head.

"Calm down, feisty one." I giggle.

"Don't be so condescending!" Youhei wails, looking at me.

"If it wasn't for everyone here, I don't think I could've done anything. There are no words to express my gratitude." Nagisa smiles.

"We can't relax now, though. The School Festival is coming up before the summer break. Our goal is to take part in it." Okazaki reminds us.

"Will we still make it in time?" Nagisa asks.

"What are you hesitating about now?" Okazaki asks her.

"Okazaki-san..." Nagisa murmurs.

"Wasn't this your dream?" Okazaki says. "Now that it's right in front of you, there's no time to hesitate. You have to get excited and reach for it no matter what!

"Yeah." Everyone in the club room says in unison.

Nagisa looks around, then smiles. "You're right. I will work for it excitedly!"

Kotomi finds a blanket and it sets it down on the floor, then spreads all the food she had made out, then sets down a few drinks.

"Come and eat, everyone!" She smiles and sits down, and we all go to join her.

"Mmm! Kotomi-chan this is seriously tasty!" I say, taking a bite of the food she had made.

"I'm glad you think so." Kotomi says, and eats some of it.

"This is the best cooking I've ever had in my life!" Youhei exclaims, and I stare at him.

"What about the bento I made for you?!" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"O-Oh yeah! That was amazing too! Just-"

"Not as good as this?" I huff, crossing my arms.

"That's not was I was going to say!" Youhei wails.

"Hmph!" I turn away. I'm not really mad, but it's kind of fun to make Youhei worry.

"Rin-chaaaaan!" Youhei cries, and wraps his arms around me.

I sigh and pat his head, then kiss his cheek, and he smiles and pulls away, and goes back to eating. Something suddenly flings into my lap, and I jump up, startled. I sigh as I see a piece of shrimp, and look towards Youhei, who's whistling and eating some of his bento.

It really is tradition for us, to act like little kids, huh? Smirking, I grab the shrimp and toss it at Youhei, he glances up and winks at me, and I look around. Doesn't look like anyone else has seen us yet. The shrimp flies back to me, and slides across the floor.

I pick it up, and fling it at Youhei, however, my aim was horribly off and it ends up in Kyou's lap instead. My eyes widen and so do hers, then she turns to glare at Youhei. She must not have seen the direction it came in.

"Youhei! What are you doing?!" Kyou shouts and stands up.

"Wait! That was me! I was aiming at You-chan, not you..." I stammer, looking at the ground. "Sorry!"

Kyou sighs and rolls her eyes. "You two always cause some kind of commotion when you're together. Honestly."

Youhei and I look at each other, then start to laugh, and soon the whole club room is filled with laughter.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Will we have practice tomorrow?" I ask Nagisa as we leave school.

"Yes! I'm planning to have Koumura-sensei teach us tomorrow, since he was unable to today. Oh, I need to go find Okazaki-san! See you later!" Nagisa says and races off.

oOoOoOoOo

"Costume prepares the costumes and props. Sound plays music and sound effect. Lighting lights the stage." Koumura explains the different roles to us.

"It's very, very complicated." Kotomi comments.

"Looks like we'll need to distribute the roles." Ryou says.

"You can do Sound, can't you? Since you played along with Kotomi." Kyou asks Ryou.

"Looks like a lot of trouble." Tomoyo murmurs.

"Why are you here?" Youhei asks her and his arm, which is around my shoulders, tenses.

"I was curious what happened to the Theater Club. It's part of my job as Student Council President." Tomoyo responds.

"The workloads of Lighting and Sound depend on the play." Koumura continues. "A play that has a fast tempo will complicate turning the switches on and off. The sound effects can be played with that keyboard."

"This?" Ryou asks and presses a button on it. "Hair-rising..." She pushes a key, and it makes a sound that seems like it would belong in a horror movie.

"Hey, that's a great sound!" Youhei exclaims, walking over to the keyboard, with me following him, and Ryou steps back.

"Hey, this isn't a game." Kyou tells him.

"Oh come on. Let me play with it a little." Youhei says. "Wait. What was that, Rin-chan?" He asks, looking at me.

I blink and stare at him. "What?"

"You want to run away with me and abandon school?!" He exclaims and presses the key.

"I-I didn't say anything!" I huff, blushing hard. Youhei ignores me.

"Alright. I got it. Well shall live alone in a forest nobody ever enters. The two of us will run through the forest wet with dew, holding hands! However..." Youhei presses the key again, and I sigh. "Ahead of us were the murderous combination of Kyou and Tomoyo with fangs sharpened!"

And with that, Kyou and Tomoyo both raises their fists and punch Youhei in the face.

"Uwaagh!" Youhei gasps and stumbles backwards, and I hold him up.

"Are you okay?!" I demand.

"Th-They didn't have to punch me..." He whimpers, and I roll my eyes.

"Idiot. Although...we should go run away to a forest..." I giggle, and his eyes widen.

"Really?!" Youhei asks.

"No!" I exclaim, and his face falls.

"I'm kidding." I say, and pat his head. "If we could, it would be fun." I blush.

Youhei takes my hand and stands up, his eyes sparkling. "Let us go off into the forest at once!"

"You-chan, we still have school." I sigh.

"We can forget about school! Let's just run away together!" He insists, grabbing my hands.

"You're being serious?!" I exclaim and poke his cheek.

"Of course I'm being serious! You and I, living in the forest, all alone~" Youhei's eyes are still sparkling.

"You really are helpless, You-chan..." I mutter.

oOoOoOoOoOo

I end up going to Youhei's place, since he insisted he's lonely and wants me to stay with him. I acted like it was annoying, but in reality, I was happy he asked me.

"You've been keeping your room clean." I comment as we sit at the kotatsu.

"Ever since you cleaned it, I've been trying to keep it that way..." Youhei responds, scratching the back of his head, and laughing in an embarrassed away.

I giggle, and smile. "Good~Have you been eating healthier?"

Youhei is about to respond when Okazaki walks in to the room.

"Oh, Sunohara, you already have company." Okazaki says and sits down next to us.

"Um, yeah...do you think you could leave the two of us alone?" Youhei says, staring at him, and I blush.

"You-chan, you don't have to do that..."

"I can go. I thought you'd be lonely, but looks like Rin's already taking care of that. Plus, I don't want to stay too long at Nagisa's house since they're letting me be there." Okazaki tells us.

"Wait. You're staying at Nagisa's house?!" Youhei exclaims.

"Whoops." Okazaki says, but I can tell he was planning to say it anyway.

"Wha-?! Not fair! Rin-chan, you're staying with me!" Youhei says, and clings to my arm.

I blush hard and my eyes widen. "D-Didn't Misae-san say girls can't stay in a boys' dorm?!" I blush. "I-I mean, th-there's only one bed and everything, and it's a small room...and what am I saying!?"

"But I'm so lonely, Rin-chan!" Youhei cries.

I sigh and pet his head. "I'll stay for a little longer, You-chan, but Misae-san says that girls can't stay over, so..." I rest my head on his shoulder. It would be nice if I could stay with Youhei...Eep! I can't think such embarrassing thoughts!

"What if I stay at your house?" Youhei asks, and I shake my head.

"My parents hardly ever let any one come to my house. Especially not a boy." I reply and he lets out a wail.

"I wanna be with my beloved Rin-chaaan..."

Okazaki glances at the clock then turns to us. "I gotta go. See you. Don't do anything naughty." He says.

"Goodbye, Okazaki!" Youhei says, blushing and shoves him out the door.

"Naughty? What did he mean by that?" I ask Youhei.

Youhei blushes harder and laughs nervously. "Nothing. It was nothing." I stare at him, then shrug. Misae's cat comes over to me and sits in my lap.

"Is it okay for her to do that? After she bit you?" Youhei asks me.

I giggle. "I don't have to worry about that anymore." I reply, and pet her.

Youhei gives me a confused look, then shrugs and sits down next to me, and I put my head on shoulder again, blushing, and I blush, then he rests his head on top of mine. For some reason, doing this makes me feel warm all over, like when he kisses me.

"Hey, You-chan..." I say softly.

"Hmm?" Youhei says.

"Can we stay like this forever?" I ask, blushing hard.

"Didn't you ask something like that when we were at that bench?" Youhei asks, and I sigh.

"Yes. But we didn't stay like that that time..." I reply. "Maybe we really should run away somewhere together..."

"That's what I've been saying!" Youhei exclaims, and I laugh.

Running away with Youhei, huh...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"A charm, huh?" I murmur as Yukine shows me a book full of various charms. "Hmm..."

She flips through the pages. "You're dating Sunohara-san, correct? I'll see if I can find a charm for love..."

"Th-That's okay! I want anything that happens between us to be done through our own efforts. Not because of a charm." I say, glancing over at Youhei, who's talking to Okazaki and doesn't seem to hear me.

"What about a charm that tells you who truly loves you?" Yukine suggest, and I blink and nod. Who truly loves me...I've thought before that I could be a small crush to Youhei, not real love or anything..."Let's see, it says to put your hands over your heart and repeat 'honest love' out loud three times." I do as she says, then she smiles. "At two-thirty pm, the first boy to talk to you will be the one who loves you."

Suddenly, I feel a little regretful. What if two-thirty comes, and some random guy I don't know talks to me? What if no one at all says anything? What if...it isn't Youhei?

"What were you talking about, Rin-chan?" Youhei asks as I sit down next to him.

"Ah, um, nothing..." I reply, and he just shrugs and continues to talk to Okazaki. It's just a charm, though, so it can't possibly be right, can it? Just a charm...

I take a sip of my coffee, then lean back in my chair. I'll guess I'll find out, huh.

2:29 PM

Okay, I may have become a little obsessed. The entire day I was looking at the clock, like I was having a seizure. The hours seemed to pass by especially slow.

2:30 PM

"Hey, what's wrong? You've been staring at the clock all day through class. Are you doing something after school?" Youhei asks me, walking over to my desk, and my eyes widen.

"You-chan..." I murmur. "I love you!" With that, I hug him tightly.

"Ehh!? What's this about?" He exclaims, then hugs me back. "I-I love you too, Rin-chan~"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"It's a story I heard a long time ago. I don't remember if it's something I read in a picture book or if it's something someone told me. That girl was all alone in the entire world. It was very sad and very lonely for her, so she desired to make a friend. It was a doll made by putting together pieces of junk. The doll started to move, responding to the girl's wishes. So, the girl was no longer lonely. The end." Nagisa describes the play she wants to perform, but she can't find whether it was a book, or what.

The story itself doesn't ring a bell, but I feel like I should know what she's talking about.

"What do you think, You-chan? Ever heard of a story like that?" I ask him as we walk home together, and he shakes his head.

"Nope. Never heard of anything like that." Youhei replies, and I sigh.

"I really wonder what it is...I'm starting to get really curious about it..." I say, glancing up at the sunset. "I hope Nagisa can find what she's looking for, soon..."

OoOoOoOoOoO

**Everyone, thanks for reading!**

**The chapters now are getting kind of slow, but I have a lot things planned out for After Story, so bare with me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Please tell me what you thought in a review~!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you so much KittyKatLover9000 for your kind review! I am so glad you're enjoying the story! That makes me so happy! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Thank you BufuuEgypt for your review! Hehe I hope that's a good thing XD**

**And thank you very much AlwaysTheTruth for your review! Haha, it's fine, don't worry about it! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter~**

_My feelings...how do I describe them? In a way, it could all just fade away tomorrow...But, I feel like I'll love you for a very long time..._

"Rin-chan?" Youhei waves his hand in front of my face as the two of us walk to school.

"Mm, what is it?" I ask, snapping out of my daze.

"You've been dazing off like that a lot lately." Youhei comments.

"I've been thinking a lot about the play Nagisa wants to perform..." I lie. Well, that's not a complete lie. In really, I've been worrying a lot more than I should about the relationship between Youhei and I. I shake my head. Whatever happens, will happen. I need to stop worrying...

Suddenly, I feel something crawling on my arm. My eyes widen as I turn to glance and see...a beetle!?

"Eeeeeep!" I shriek and bat the bug off me. "You-chaaaan! Help me! Kill it!"

Youhei stares at me, then bursts out laughing. "What's this? You're scared of bugs?"

I huff and turn around. "O-Of course not!"

"Really? Then here, I'll give it to you." Youhei replies, scooping it up and bringing it closer to me.

"Nooo!" I wail, and jump away, and Youhei rolls his eyes and tosses it into a bush.

"Well, I'll be using that to my advantage." He says to me, smirking, and I sniffle.

"You-chan! Meanie!" I say, hitting him on the head.

"Ow! I was just kidding!" Youhei whimpers, rubbing his head, then smirks again. "Or was I~?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hitotsu hegi hegi ni hegigoshi hachikami. Bongame, bongome, bongomou. Tsumitate tsumi mame tsumi sanshou. Choshadan no chashoujyo. Okome no namagami. Ohomo no namakami. Konkogome no namakakami. Shusu. Hisuzu. Shusu. Shuchin. Oya mo kahei. Ko mo kahei. Oyakahei, kokahei. Kokahei, oyakahei. Furu kuri no furu kirikuchi. Amagappa. Kabangappaka. Kisama no kyahan mo kawagihan. Shikka bakama no shippo korobi wo minna de tabinaga ni chotto muite. Mudo soto sono nakade kawara sekiniko sekichiku. Nora nyorai. Nora nyorai. Mina nyorai. Munora nyorai. Choto saki no okoho botoke ni okesu na okyaku ga." Youhei was starting to fidget beside be as we recited the rather long tongue-twister Koumura had made for us. I forced myself not to laugh.

"Hosonaga ni, hosodomo ni, hosonoyo ni. Kyou mo nama nama nara nara nama no mama." We said, and Youhei gasped and bent over, then stood back up.

"What are these long ass sentences about?" Youhei asks, poking me.

"You already know. Koumura made these for us so we can practice our speech and articulation." I sigh, then raise an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Can't keep up~?"

"T-That's not it, obviously! Of course I ca-" Youhei gets cut off by Kyou.

"You two lovebirds! Stop flirting and get serious!" She shouts.

"B-But, we weren't even flirting that time!" I blurt out.

"_That time_? Still! Stop chatting, then!" Kyou replies.

"All right..." Youhei sighs, then pinches my waist. I squeal and jump, startled, then turn to look at him. He's staring at his paper and reciting lines, trying to hide a smile.

"Tanuki hyappiki, ashi hyakuzen. Tenmoku hyappai, bou happyappon." He recites a long with everyone else, while I'm shooting a glare at him. I turn back to my paper, and while I'm reciting the lines, I jab his waist back, and he jumps. I hide behind my paper, trying to hold back a giggle.

"Bugubagu bugubagu, nibugubagu. Awasete bugubagu, mugububagu. Kikukuri kikukuri, miki kukuri. Awasete kikukuri muki kikukuri. Mugi gomi mugi gomi nimugi gomi. Awasete mugigomi mumugi gomi." Youhei keeps looking over at me, and I notice he's fidgeting again. "Ano nageshino no nage naginata ha dada nagenawa no fuhou no."

"Uwagh! I give up!" Youhei suddenly wails, falling onto the ground, and I roll my eyes and lay down next to him.

"Well, I guess we could take a break from the tongue twisters..." Kyou sighs. "Stretching! Let's do stretching next!"

With that, the girls broke into pairs with Kyou leading us, while Youhei and Okazaki set up and went through some of the equipment.

Kotomi pushed on my back while I tried stretching on the floor, and Nagisa and Ryou pick each other up.

"Nagisa, are you making progress with the script?" Okazaki asks her.

"Yes. I'm writing a little at a time as I remember the story. I think I can finish it by tomorrow." Nagisa replies, and I can't help but excited. Our first play together as the Theater Club! It is exciting!

"Ryou and Kotomi will do sound." Kyou announces. "Youhei, Rin and I will do lighting. Tomoyo can do Effects and Directing. And Nagisa, you'll be the actress, right?"

"Yes!" Nagisa replies, smiling.

"It's starting to look more and more like a real Theater Club." Ryou says.

"There are still so many things we need to decide." Kotomi comments. "Like costumes and music."

"What should we do about the costumes?" Ryou asks.

"Anyone good with sewing?" Youhei asks.

"Nope. I just end up pricking my finger every two seconds." I sigh, and Youhei laughs.

"I don't think it's impossible to do it, but..." Kyou trails off.

"I don't have much confidence either." Kotomi says.

"Then that leaves...Hmm..." Okazaki mutters.

"Do you have someone in mind, Okazaki-kun?" I ask, as I push on Kotomi's back while she stretches.

"Yeah...I do." He replies, rather cryptically. "Nagisa, can you come with me?"

"Hmm? Sure, Okazaki-san." Nagisa says, and stands up.

"See you, everyone." Okazaki waves, and with that, the two of them leave the room.

"I'm starting to get seriously excited about the play." I say, sitting down next to Youhei. "I hope everything turns out okay..."

"I'm sure we'll do fine. But, the only thing I'm disappointed about is I won't get to see you acting."

I blush and turn away. "I-I'm sure w-we'll do other plays too, so..."

Youhei laughs at my obvious embarrassment and pats my shoulder.

"Hey! Lovebirds! Stop fooling around and get back to work!" Kyou shouts at us, and I jump up.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"This is a world that has ended. A world where no one but I exists. In the room is a small table and a chair. Outside the window is a vast plain with nothing in it. Is this interesting?" Kyou asks, reading from Nagisa's script.

"Yes. I think it's interesting." Nagisa replies.

"We researched some, too, but we couldn't find the title." Kotomi says.

"The story isn't complete yet, right?" Ryou asks.

"Yes." Nagisa responds.

"I think this sounds really interesting! I can't wait to see you perform it!" I say, patting Nagisa on the back.

"Really? I'm glad! I'm excited to perform it!" Nagisa responds, smiling.

"So, do you know any music that'll fit well as BGM?" Okazaki asks Rie, who had come into the room with Sakagami and her other friend from the Choir Club.

"What do you think, Rie-chan?" Sakagami asks.

"I have a picture in my head. All you have to do is put yourself in the girl's shoes." Rie turns to us.

"Put yourself in the girl's shoes..." Nagisa repeats.

"It's not about being alone at school or home, but being alone in the world." Rie says. "It's a very sad thing, isn't it?"

Would I be able to handle a loneliness like that? Probably not...growing up, all alone in the world...what would it be like? Not a single other living human. No, I wouldn't be able to handle that.

"Yes. It's a very sad thing." Nagisa agrees.

"Music with a sad tone will probably fit it well." Rie says, reaching into her bag and sets our several CDs on a desk.

"Holy!" Kyou says, glancing at the stacks of CDs.

"Are all of these CDs yours, Nishina-san?" Kotomi asks.

"Rie-chan loves music, after all." Sakagami replies. Rie shuffles through the piles of CDs, then pulls one out.

"How about this one?" Rie suggests, then puts it into the CD player and hits 'play'. The song is very melodic, and lulling. I close my eyes as I listen to it.

"It's a song called Ma Mere L'Oye by Ravel." Rie explains.

"Ma Mere what?" Kyou asks.

"Ma Mere L'Oye." Rie repeats. "It's Mother Goose. Since your play has a fantasia-like mood, I thought it would fit well. Ravel composted many fantasia-like pieces. This piece was for a Marchen."

Youhei turns the music off, and my eyes open.

"It's wonderful! It fits so perfectly it almost surprises me." Nagisa exclaims.

"I'm glad you like it." Rie smiles, when suddenly the door opens, and Tomoyo walks in.

"It's really lively in here." She comments.

"Sakagami-san. Hello." Nagisa says, bowing.

"Why are you wearing glasses?" Okazaki asks Tomoyo. I blink. I've never seen Tomoyo wear glasses before.

"Because my eyes are bad, obviously." Tomoyo replies.

"But you never wore them before." Youhei points out.

"I don't like how I look with glasses on very much." Tomoyo says, frowning.

"Then how about getting contact lenses?" Ryou suggests.

"Those are scary." Tomoyo responds.

"I understand that feeling well." Kotomi says.

Tomoyo glances over at Okazaki, then turns away. "Forget about me! How are things going here?"

"As you can see, we're making good progress." Okazaki says.

"But we still have lots to do." Nagisa adds. "We're only getting started."

"The path we are taking is still continuing. Let us both keep working hard. It's a promise." Tomoyo says to Nagisa, holding out her pinkie. Nagisa hooks her pinkie with her own.

"Yes." Nagisa replies.

Tomoyo pats Nagisa on the head, ruffling her hair. "As I'd thought, you are a good girl. I'm glad it was you." I blink in confusion as she pulls her hand away, and walks out the door.

"That was weird." I say, leaning on Youhei.

"Definitely." He agrees. "Maybe I should try that..." And with that, Youhei smirks and pats my head, ruffling my hair, and causing me to blush bright red.

"Geez, You-chan..." I murmur, resting my head on his shoulder, and he keep his hand on my head.

"I'll try acting along with the music now. Will you watch?" Nagisa asks everyone, and I smile. Youhei flicks the music back on, and Nagisa becomes more animated then ever as she acts out the scenes from her script, light flooding into the room from the window, as she moves her arms.

It's almost entrancing, watching Nagisa perform. Will I ever be able to perform as well as that?

Soon, Koumura comes into the room to watch Nagisa's performance and help her out with it. As he's instructing her, Youhei, Kyou, Ryou and I look at the scripts.

"This is boring..." Youhei mutters, yawning.

Kyou glares at him. "Then why are you here?!" She shouts, then punches his head.

"Ow!" Youhei wails, then falls out of his chair.

"You-chan!" I exclaim and kneel down beside him. "Are you awake now?"

"Don't you have any concern for me?" Youhei huffs, rubbing his head, and I roll my eyes and kiss his head.

"Hey, Kyou-san, didn't we agree I was the only one who could beat up You-chan?" I grin.

"Oh, that's right, I'm sorry! I totally forgot." Kyou replies, playing along.

"Hey! Am I just some punching bag to you guys?!" Youhei shouts.

I laugh and pat him on the head.

"Yep. That's the only reason I'm with you. You're fun to beat up." I say, smirking.

"S-Seriously?!" Youhei wails, looking like he's about to cry.

I roll my eyes, and kiss his forehead. "Of course not, You-chan. Still, though, no one else can hit you but me."

Youhei stares at me and I sniffles, and I laugh.

"Tomorrow's the practice, and the day after we have the actual play...I'm so excited!" I squeal, bouncing around the room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"My hands are getting tired." Youhei comments the next day as he wheels up the light.

"I-I can help." I say shyly, putting my hands on top of his, and together we pull it up.

"Nagisa don't move, all right? Otherwise we won't know the position." Kyou calls to Nagisa.

"A little higher! Yeah, we need the light in the center!" Okazaki calls to Youhei and I as we wheel it up. "Okay, try turning it on!"

We turn the light on, and soon the whole area is flooded with light. I wipe some sweat off my forehead.

"Geez, that's heavy." I mutter, then turn to Youhei and smile. "You're pretty strong, huh?"

Youhei blushes, then smirks and strikes a pose. "I definitely am~!"

We go behind the stage, in the darkness, and surround Nagisa.

"It gets pretty dark on this side, eh?" Ryou comments.

"Yeah. We'll need a flashlight tomorrow." Okazaki says.

"My heart's pounding really hard." Nagisa whimpers.

"Relax. Calm down. Imagine those watching aren't people." Kyou says.

"What should I think they are, then?" Nagisa asks.

"If not people, then how about aliens?" Kotomi suggests.

"Isn't there something wrong with that?" Okazaki mutters.

"They've come to invade the Earth, so they won't care what you do." Youhei says, and I roll my eyes.

"I don't want them to be completely oblivious!" Nagisa exclaims. "I want them to watch!"

"In that case, your acting determines if the Earth will be invaded or not. If you put on a good performance for the aliens, then there'll be no invasion. But if you give a poor performance, the world gets wiped away." Youhei says, and I hit him on the head.

"That puts huge pressure on me!" Nagisa wails.

"Ow! Rin-chan!" Youhei says, rubbing his head.

"Hey, she's really reaching her limit, so quit the foolish talk." Okazaki says to Youhei.

"But I'm starting to calm down." Nagisa murmurs.

"Really?" Okazaki asks. Nagisa smiles, and Tomoyo comes walking towards us.

"The Theater Club is up next. Are you ready?" Tomoyo asks.

"Y-Yes! We're good." Nagisa replies.

"Okay. Give it your best." Tomoyo says, smiling.

"I'm starting to get nervous again." Nagisa says.

"You just said you were calming down." Kyou points out.

"I'm sorry. But when I think you're all working hard for me..." Nagisa trails off.

"It's not just for you." Okazaki tells her. "Or rather, we're all here to make this moment an enjoyable one."

"I...guess..." Nagisa replies softly.

"Nagisa-chan! We're all here for you! We know you'll do amazing!" I say, putting a hand on her soldier.

"The School Festival is run by everyone participating in it, so don't take all the pressure by yourself." Okazaki says.

"Yes. I think you're right. And thank you, Rin-chan." Nagisa smiles.

"Theater Club. If you're ready, please begin." A voice calls.

"Yes!" Nagisa shouts.

"Let's give this a go!" Youhei cheers.

"We can do it!" I say, smiling.

"Hey, I saw something on the TV before, when we huddle up, put our hands together, and do a 'let's go' kind of thing. What do you think?" Kyou suggests.

"I saw one of those, too. It's so cool!" Ryou says.

"I've seen those, too! I want to do it!" I say.

"I want to try it, too!" Kotomi says.

"All right, everyone, hands in!" Okazaki orders, putting his hand in the air. Nagisa puts her hand next, then I do, and Youhei puts his hand on top of mine, then Kotomi, Kyou and Ryou.

"I did this a lot when I was on the soccer team." Youhei adds, and I smile.

"Theater Club, let's go!" Okazaki cheers.

"Yeaaah!" We shout in unison.

"Off you go, Nagisa!" Okazaki says to her.

"Yes!" Nagisa replies.

"Let's all take positions too." Ryou suggests.

"Yup!" Kotomi says.

"Youhei, Rin, let's go!" Kyou says.

"Crap, with Rin-chan here, I'm starting to get nervous too!" Youhei wails, fidgeting.

"Dang it! Don't get me started!" I say to Youhei, feeling my heart race. What if I mess up, right in front of him? I could press the wrong button or do something stupid... "Uwaaah! What am I gonna dooooo?"

Kyou sighs and rolls her eyes. "I'm not having you skimp out on your jobs because you're too in love with each other. Come on." With that, Kyou grabs my hand, and Youhei's hand, and drags us to our positions.

"Thank you, everyone!" Nagisa says, walking to the stage.

The practice play goes off without a hitch. Nagisa does perfect, completely entrancing the few people who are watching, and Youhei and I do our job without completely messing up.

"You two better calm down tomorrow." Kyou sighs as we walk home.

"I can't help the fact that being with Youhei...makes my heart flutter!" I say dramatically, giggling.

"Oh god, you've got to be kidding me. You two make me sick." Kyou mutters, but she's smiling as she says this. "Oh, this is where Ryou and I go. See you, everyone!"

Ryou and Kyou walk home together, and soon, Nagisa and Okazaki part ways with us, so it's just Youhei and me again.

"Was that true?" Youhei asks, his arm around my shoulders.

"Was what true?" I ask.

"Do I really make your heart flutter?" He says, smirking, and I roll my eyes.

"Of course you do. As cheesy as it may be." I reply, blushing slightly.

The two of us burst out laughing, a sound that fills the emptiness of the night. Glancing up, I see the stars shine brighter than ever, and for an instant, I see something flash across the sky. A shooting star?!

"You-chan, I think there's a shooting star!" I exclaim.

"What? Where?!" Youhei asks, and I point up in the sky. I giggle, close my eyes, and clasp my hands together, making a wish.

"What did you wish for?" Youhei asks as I open my eyes.

I wink and smile. "I can't tell you or else it won't come true."

"Dang iiit! Mean Rin-chan!" Youhei huffs, and I laugh.

"Come on, You-chan." I say, taking his hand.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day we have the School Festival, while I'm completely nervous. We're sitting in the Theater Club room together, sitting around a few desks pushed together, with me sitting next to Youhei, who's yawning.

"I'm really tired..." He mutters, yawning again, and causing me to yawn.

"You don't have any sense of nervousness, do you?" Kyou asks him, and I pat his head.

"You can lean on me." I giggle, and he blinks, then puts his head on my shoulder, and I blush. I didn't think he was really going to. Youhei closes his eyes and snuggles closer to me, causing me to blush even more.

"Can't you do that in another room?" Kyou sighs, and I huff.

"We aren't even kissing or anything!" I exclaim, blushing. Youhei perks up at that word, grabs my face, and kisses me.

"Now we are." Youhei smirks, and I turn bright red.

"A-A-Are you g-going to do t-that every time?" I stammer.

"Anytime someone's bothered by our PDA." Youhei replies, leaning back in his chair. Kyou's staring at us with her mouth open wide, and I can't help but laugh a little.

"Nagisa-chan, what's the matter?" Ryou asks, and I turn to look at Nagisa, who's sitting by herself and staring blankly at the ground. Now that I think about it, she's been acting out of it the whole morning. Perhaps she's nervous...?

Nagisa turns around at Ryou's voice, but Okazaki cuts her off before she can say anything.

"Nagisa's getting nervous about the performance." Okazaki explains, as if he was reading my thoughts. "Right?"

"Y-Yes." Nagisa replies, but I feel like there's something else bothering her.

"Isn't something strange about Nagisa?" Youhei asks.

"Some stuff happened. Act like you always do." Okazaki replies to him. I knew there was something else...

"Are you going to take out for the School Festival? It might help her get her mind off of whatever's bothering her." I suggest.

"Yeah, I was planning to take her. What about you, Sunohara? Are you taking Rin out?" Okazaki asks him, and I blush.

"Yep. But my sister decided to show up randomly again, and she's making me take her around the school." Youhei looks at me. "We'll have about half an hour to do whatever we want together, though."

My eyes widen. "Y-You'll really take me?" I ask.

Youhei rolls his eyes. "Of course I am! What did you think I was going to do?"

"I-I don't know...I-I d-didn't think you would stay with me..." I reply, laughing nervously. Youhei walks over to me and drapes his arm around my shoulders.

"Where should we go first~?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Mmm! This tastes soooo to good!" I exclaim, eating a crepe which Youhei had bought for me from one of the several stands outside. He laughs and leans down, taking a bite of it.

"It is pretty good." Youhei says, and I bat him away.

"Go get your own!" I laugh and he huffs.

Next, we go into a classroom with a game stand set up, where you have to get a ball in a cup without knocking it over.

"Alright, I got this." Youhei smirks, paying the student who's standing outside of the door, and she gives him three rubber balls.

He stands where she directs him, and he throws the ball...which ends up no where near the cup.

"Dang it! Well, I can do the next one!" Youhei says, and tosses it into the air again. Once more, he completely misses. I hold back a laugh as he stomps angrily, then throws it once more. It lands in the cup! ...But then it falls to the ground. "This is a complete rip-off." Youhei declares as we walk out of the room together.

We go around to different stands, playing games and eating different foods, until Youhei's little sister, Mei comes running up to us.

"Onii-chan! Rin-san!" Mei says, smiling. "Let's go!"

For the next couple of hours, the three of us walk around, going to a bunch of different places, laughing and having fun, until finally, it's time for the play.

Nagisa's absently staring at her hand when we walk up to her, Kyou patting her shoulder.

"Nagisa!" Kyou says.

"The time's come." Youhei smiles.

"Don't worry. You'll definitely do well out there." Ryou encourages.

"I know you'll do amazing!" I say.

"Everything will go well as long as you do as you practiced." Kotomi adds.

"Don't stress over it too much and enjoy yourself." Kyou tells her.

She frowns, and stares at her lap. Something's still bothering her...

I hug her tightly. "Good luck, Nagisa-chan." I say softly, and she stares at me, then walks away, going to the stage.

"Will she be okay?" I ask Okazaki.

He nods. "She has to be." Okazaki replies.

I turn my gaze to Youhei and can't help but stare at him.

"What's wrong? Is there something on me?" Youhei asks, noticing me.

I blush and shake my head. "No...it's just...you look _really _good in black."

This catches Youhei off guard, and he blushes too, then smirks. "Really now?" He strikes a pose, and I nod.

"Yep." I reply, winking at him. "Come on, let's get going before I start drooling...wait, what?! Ignore that!"

"Oh? Start drooling, huh?" Youhei says, raising his eyebrows, and I turn bright red.

"Nothing! Nothing! Kyou-san, help meeee!" I wail, and she rolls her eyes and drags the two of us up into our spot where all the equipment is.

"Thank you for waiting. 'Fantasia Story' by the Theater Club." A voice announces, and Okazaki presses a button that lifts the curtain up. Youhei presses a button so that there's a beam of light directly over Nagisa. Except, she isn't saying anything, and she isn't moving either.

Ryou turns to look at her.

"Nagisa?" Youhei asks. She's staring blankly into space.

"Something's wrong." Kyou mutters.

"Something's wrong with Nagisa-chan!" Kotomi says, and I stand up.

"Okazaki-kun. What happened to her?" I ask him.

He shakes his head, and I sigh.

"Maybe she became too nervous." Ryou suggests.

"Okazaki, what should we do?" Youhei asks.

"Should we drop the curtain once?" Kyou asks.

Okazaki frowns, dropping his head. "No, it's fine. She will do it." He replies, and as he says this, Nagisa begins totremble and shake, starting to cry.

"Nagisa-chan..." I murmur, and Youhei puts his hand on my shoulder. "Okazaki-kun! We can't just leave her there crying!" I shout.

"This isn't good! We should drop the curtain." Youhei says.

"Tomoya!" Kyou yells, and Okazaki's finger hovers over the button that would drop the curtain, and he's grimacing.

"Make your dream come true, Nagisa!" A voice shouts, and suddenly Nagisa's father comes running into the auditorium. Nagisa's eyes widen, and we all gasp.

"What?!" Kyou exclaims.

"Old man!" Okazaki says.

"Nagisa! Are you an idiot or what?!" Nagisa's father shouts, slamming his fist against the wall. "A child's dream is their parent's dream! So you grant it for us! We've been dreaming of the day you would make your dream come true! We didn't give up our dreams! We changed our dream to your dream! That's what parents are! That's what family is! So...ever since that day...Every day, while baking bread...we've been living, waiting for this day! If you fail here, we'll be depressed! Do you hear me?! You've got a huge responsibility on your back, you hear me?! Sanae! You're here too, aren't you?! You say something, too!"

"Nagisa! You can do it!" Sanae, Nagisa's mother, stands up in the audience and shouts. Before I know it, I'm starting to cry as well, covering my face with my hands.

"What? What is going on!?" Kyou demands, and Okazaki races out of the room. "Tomoya!" Youhei wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly.

"W-What's wrong, Rin-chan!?" Youhei asks, and I sniffle and smile weakly.

"Nothing..." I reply, and Youhei stares at me and shrugs, keeping his arms around me.

"Same goes for us, Nagisa! You're about to make what Sunohara and I couldn't do happen! Right now, you're even carrying the sense of failure we went through!" Okazaki calls to her. Nagisa shakes more, and looks up at the window where Ryou, Kyou, Youhei and I are standing.

We all peer down at her, and wipe my eyes and give her a thumbs-up. Nagisa turns back to the audience, wipes her eyes, and takes a deep breath, and extends her hand.

"Shall I...Shall I take you? To the place in the city where dreams come true?" Nagisa walks over to where the table and chair on the stage are. "This is a world that has ended. A world where no one but I exists. In the room are a small wooden table and chair. Outside the window is a vast plain with nothing. The building is old, and there is no clue of when it was built. I live here alone. I sometimes go out to pick necessities. There is no one outside, either. Within the faint illumination are many small lights flying. I picked up branches, nails, and many other things. It's to make a friend. But, will the one being born be happy? With some doubt in mind..."

The play ends, and we all go to stage, and the audience cheers and claps, and we line up and take a bow.

"Nagisa-chan! You were amazing!" I exclaim as she returns backstage, and hug her tightly. "Are you okay now?!"

She laughs. "I'm fine. I'm sorry for worrying all of you."

Okazaki comes over to us, and stands awkwardly in front of her. "G-Good job, Nagisa."

"Thank you, Okazaki-san!" Nagisa smiles. Is Okazaki blushing? He and Nagisa then leave the room. I smile to myself and turn back to Youhei, then salute.

"Good work, General." I say, trying to keep a straight face.

"Good work, Soldier." Youhei says, laughing, and patting my head.

"Yo, everyone! We're going to have a party in the club room to celebrate!" Kyou announces. "I'm going to go find Tomoya and Nagisa. Meet up there!"

Youhei and I glance at each other, then he grabs my hand, and we race out to the club room, laughing and skipping side by side, looking like complete fools. I couldn't be more happy, though.

"Eh? Kyou-san, Nagisa-chan, Okazaki-kun, how are you already here?" I ask as we skip into the room.

"Hmm? We came in through the other entrance." Kyou replies, and hands out those little confetti-popper things. "Let's wait for Kotomi and Ryou to get here and we'll pop these at the same time." As she says that, Ryou and Kotomi step into the room, and Kyou hands them theirs. "Okay, ready...1...2...3...GO!"

I'm about to pop mine when Youhei bumps into me, and I stumble over, popping mine a few seconds later than everyone else.

"You-chaaan!" I whine, and he laughs.

After we celebrate a little more in the club room, we go outside where a 'dance' is being held.

"So, um, do you, want to dance with me?" Youhei asks, blushing, and coughing slightly.

I laugh and smile. "Of course I do!" I say, and he takes my hands. I blush and smile, and lean slightly against him, as we dance under the starry night sky. I see Okazaki and Nagisa are paired up together as well.

"Hey, You-chan..." I murmur.

"Hmm?" He asks.

"This is really fun..." I blush.

"Y-You think so?" Youhei exclaims, and he squeezes my hands.

I laugh and smile. "Yes, I think so. Let's do this again." I lean more against him, melting from the warmth, and close my eyes.

Once we finish dancing, Kyou announces we're having the rest of the party in Youhei's room, and that they already got food there and everything, much to Youhei's dismay.

"Cheers!" We say, bumping our drinks together.

"I'm exhausted." I say, sighing, as I close my eyes and rest my head on Youhei. "But today was so much fun."

Youhei laughs. "I had fun, too. I'm glad everything got worked out with Nagisa, too."

"Yeah, that was almost scary, seeing her cry on stage like that." I say. "I felt so bad for her..."

OooOoOoOoO

Even though it's summer break, the seniors still have their supplementary classes, so we still have to go to school. Youhei kept on saying the two of us should just run away somewhere for the summer, and as tempting as that sounded, I had to decline. I'm determined to make sure both of us graduate, together.

However, on one day, Youhei finally manages to convince me to stay home with him, and Okazaki stays over too.

"Huh?! You two haven't even held hands yet?! Are you an idiot?!" Youhei exclaims as Okazaki tells him of his and Nagisa's relatonship. "Rin and I held hands right away!" He says, grabbing my hand and holding it up, and I blush.

"That's because you're really bold, You-chan...and everyone's different." I say.

"Well, I get nervous when the opportunity comes." Okazaki replies.

"I was really nervous when we first started holding hands. Heck, it's still nerve-wracking." I say, and Youhei raises his eyebrows and squeezes my hand.

At that moment, Misae comes into the room. "Sunohara, your sister is here." She says, and Mei steps into the room.

"Hi, Onii-chan!" Mae smiles, and Youhei groans and falls on the ground. "Long time no see, Okazaki-san, Rin-san! I told you over the phone that I'd come to visit, Onii-chan."

"I totally forgot about it." Youhei replies, and I roll my eyes.

"You 'forget' about a lot of stuff concerning your sister." I say, poking his cheek.

"Oh yeah, Onii-chan, I've noticed you've been keeping your room clean." Mei comments, looking around his room.

"That's because Rin-chan cleans it." Youhei responds, and Mei sighs exasperatedly.

"Onii-chan, you can't make a girl, especially your girlfriend, clean your room!" Mei shouts. "You need to keep it clean by yourself. You're so hopeless. I can't believe you're dating someone as nice as Rin-san."

Youhei jumps up. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Rin-san, are you're sure there isn't someone better for you? Onii-chan's so helpless." Mei says, and Youhei looks like he's about to cry. I laugh and walk over to him, and pat his head.

"I don't care if there's someone better. You-chan's the one I want." I say, smiling. Youhei stares at me with wide eyes, and Mei smiles.

"Rin-chan! I love yoooouuuu!" Youhei exclaims, hugging me tightly and clinging to me.

"You-chan...you're squishing me...again..." I say, giggling.

"Onii-chan, it's nice you found such a good girlfriend. Thank you again for taking care of my helpless brother." Mei says, bowing.

"I plan to keep doing so." I say, bowing back. "Thank you for allowing me to take care of him."

"Oh yeah, Mei-chan, let's go see the old man and Sanae-san while you're here." Okazaki says, breaking the moment.

"Yes!" Mei replies, smiling, and before Youhei or I can do anything, the two of them leave the room.

"She left me again..." Youhei says, with a pathetic expression, and I sigh and walk back over to him.

"I'm still here, if you want me as company." I say, turning to look at him, and he legit almost pounces on me.

"Don't go! Stay with me! Of course I want you!" Youhei wails, squishing me again.

I laugh and hug him back. "I will, I will, geez..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

That next day, I stay with Youhei again, with Okazaki sitting with us.

"So she's out playing with Nagisa again?" Youhei asks, after Okazaki told us where Mei was. He grabs a bottle of soda from his table and gulps it down.

"Don't drink it that fast while laying down, you'll choke or something." I chastise him.

"What could Mei be doing, deserting her brother?" Youhei wails, ignorning me, and laying down on the ground. I sigh and lay down next to him, and he blushes and looks at me, then looks away.

"Don't be depressed like that." Okazaki says, playing with Misae's cat. "I'm sure she'll stop by at some point."

"You think so?" Youhei asks, and at that moment, there's a knock on the door.

"Hello." Mei says at the door.

"See, she did come." Okazaki says, and Youhei stands up to get the door. I can't help but feel a pang of...disappointment? Jealousy?

What's wrong with me? I can't be thinking things like that...

"Ah, fine. I guess I'll go deal with her." Youhei smirks, opening the door.

Mei pops into the room.

"I knew I'd find you here!" Mei says, looking at Okazaki.

"Me?" Okazaki asks, pointing to himself.

"Yes." Mei says, and Youhei's eyes widen.

"Onii-chan, I want to have a private discussion with Okazaki-san, so can you and Rin-san go outside?" Mei asks, and I frown. Poor Youhei..."Come on! You're in the way!" Mei shouts, and with that, she shoves Youhei out of the room, me following him, and shuts the door. Youhei bangs on the door, crying dramatically, and I sigh and pat him on the back, then snap.

"I got it! Let's go somewhere, You-chan!" I say, and smile at him. He perks up immediately and grabs my hand.

"But...shouldn't you get changed?" I giggle. He's still wearing his pajamas, which I think is completely adorable.

"Ah, right!" He says, and at that moment Okazaki and Mei step out of the room, where Nagisa is in the hallway. I didn't even notice her. How did she get there? Mei doesn't even wave goodbye to Youhei as she walks down with Nagisa and Okazaki, and he goes in to change.

Youhei comes out a few minutes later and takes my hand.

We spend the next few hours walking around, going to a bunch of different stores, and pretty much just completely messing around, until we run into Mei, Nagisa, and Okazaki in the park.

"Onii-chan? Rin-san? Where have you guys been?" Mei asks.

"Well, after you kicked me out of my own room-" Youhei starts.

"We were on a date." I reply, smiling.

"Oh! That's good you two were out together! Did Onii-chan cause you a lot of trouble?" Mei asks, and I laugh.

"Yeah, but that's what's expected." I say, patting Youhei on the head.

"H-Hey!" Youhei wails, and I roll my eyes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Things are going to pick up in the next chapter or so, so be ready~**

**Please review and tell me what you thought! Thank you so much!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you AlwaysTheTruth for your review! :D I cut this chapter in half XD I hope you enjoy it~**

Today's the first day of second semester, and regular school will be starting up again. No more supplementary classes. Summer went by pretty fast. Tying my hair into a ponytail, I step out the door, the harshness of the sunlight nearly blinding my eyes, and I lift my hand up, shielding my eyes, as I walk down the sidewalk, to Youhei's apartment.

This will be the final semester of school...this is our final year. What does the future have in store? I...haven't really that far into my future. Kyou and Ryou already have ideas of where they want to work, what they want to be, that sort of thing...But me? I've only thought about my future a couple of times. Becuase there's something else heavy weighing on my mind...

"Good morning, You-chan." I smile, waiting outside the door. His blonde hair is slightly messy, like he just rolled out of bed...which he probably did, of course.

"Good morning, Rin-chan~" Youhei says, linking arms with me, and I blush.

"I can't believe summer's over already...it feels like it just started..." I sigh as we walk to school.

"Right? I can't believe we're already starting our second semester." Youhei replies.

"No more slacking off, You-chan. I stayed at your place during the summer a lot more than I had intended to, and I need to make sure we both graduate. Together." I say, looking at him and raising my eyebrows.

Youhei groans. "What? I thought I could just fool around with you for the rest of the year."

I blush and roll my eyes. "Nope. We're doing this together." Blushing harder, I stare at the ground, then grab his hand and start running towards school. "Come on! We can't be late!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I'm in! It sounds fun!" Kyou says.

"Having Kyou-chan on our team will make us invincible!" Nagisa smiles. Nagisa's father insisted that Okazaki gather up some people so they could have a game of baseball.

"Nagisa's father really knows how to pick people, having chosen I, Youhei-sama." Youhei says, rubbing his chin and I hit his head.

"Hush it, Youhei-sama." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Ryou, what about you?" Kyou asks her sister.

"O-Oh, not me, I have no confidence in sports." Ryou says, blushing.

"Rin-chan? Will you join?" Youhei asks me, and I sigh.

"You know how clumsy I am when it comes to sports. I'd probably hurt you guys more than help." I point out, and Youhei doesn't even bother to argue, he just pats me on the head. "I'll be cheering my hardest for you, You-chan. And everyone else, too."

"I'll do my best at cheering, too." Nagisa says. "Good luck, Tomoya-kun."

"Hmm~" Kyou smirks, looking at Nagisa and Okazaki.

"What?" Okazaki asks, noticing her.

"You guys are looking more and more like a couple now." Kyou replies, raising her eyebrows. Nagisa and Okazaki look at each other, blush, then turn away.

"Y-You think so?" Nagisa asks.

"Yep. A lot better than before." Kyou says, nodding.

"Hold on a sec, I'm gonna go ask Tomoyo if she wants to join as well." Okazaki says, and grabs Nagisa's hand. The two of them rush out of the room.

"Tomoyo..." Kyou and I say at the same time. It's been a while since Tomoyo has beat up, or attempted to beat up Youhei, but I guess I still worry about him. I can't say anything about that, though, since Youhei would just insist he can handle himself around Tomoyo and there's no way she could beat him up...again.

"You-chan, I'm excited to see you play baseball." I say as we walk home together with Nagisa, Tomoyo, and Okazaki.

"Well, I'm going to be amazing, so make sure you're watching." Youhei winks.

"Hehe, don't do anything stupid out there, okay, You-chan? Don't push yourself like you did at the basketball game. Don't get hurt." I fuss, poking his cheek.

"Rin-chan, I'll be fine. Don't worry. Do I ever do anything stupid?" Youhei says, and all I do is cross my arms and raise my eyebrows when he says "...Don't answer that."

"It's amazing that Tomoyo-san's joining." Nagisa's saying as we turn back to the others.

"I haven't decided to, yet. I said I would if Misae-san would, too." Tomoyo replies, frowning a little.

"Misae-san looks like she has good athleticism, so we've got to talk her into it." Okazaki comments.

"I've known her for a long time, so it'll work if I ask her to join." Youhei says. Suddenly Nagisa stops walking and points ahead, at something in front of us.

"It's Yusuke Yoshino-san." Nagisa says, and I see a guy working on the electric wires ahead of us. I vaguely remember him from that wedding, a long time ago. He was...engaged to that teacher, wasn't he?

"Ah, from the wedding some time ago." Tomoyo says, repeating my thoughts.

"Perfect. Let's invite him, too." Youhei suggests. "Hey, Yoshino-saaaaan!" He calls, waving to him. Yoshino doesn't even turn around to look at him.

"It looks like he didn't hear you." Nagisa murmurs.

"Let's start a Yoshino call!" Youhei says, pumping his fist in the air.

"Yoshino call?" Okazaki and I repeat at the same time.

"Like calling for an encore at concerts." Youhei explains. "Then I bet he'll remember the days he was a musician and answer us." I laugh and pat him on the head.

"Cutie. Let's do it." I say, and Youhei blushes, looking away from me. We clap our hands, then in unison, we call "YOSHINO! YOSHINO! YOSHINO!" Well, it's just me and Youhei shouting. The rest are saying it half-heartedly.

"Louder!" Youhei demands, and I roll my eyes.

"YOSHINO! YOSHINO! YOSHINO!" We shout, and Yoshino begins to climb down from the wires. Yoshino runs towards us, then...pounds Youhei on the head.

"What kind of harassment is this?!" Yoshino yells, crossing his arms, and my eyes widen.

"You-chan! Are you okay?!" I gasp, and he rubs his head.

"Geez...why is everyone so violent?!" Youhei wails, and I frown at the Yoshino guy.

"He was just trying to get your attention." I say, trying to force my frown into a smile. I really do get defensive when it comes to Youhei...

"Oh. Sorry about that, then. What is it you wanted?" Yoshino asks.

"We're having a baseball tournament-sort of thing soon, on Sunday. Can you come?" Nagisa asks.

"I can't. I have work on Sunday." Yoshino replies.

"I see..." Nagisa murmurs.

"It's nothing personal. See you." Yoshino mutters, waving, then turns back to his car.

"Wait!" Okazaki shouts.

"Tomoya-kun, I don't think you should push it." Nagisa says.

"He...Sunohara looks up to you!" Okazaki says, pointing to Youhei, and Youhei's eyes widen.

"Eh?" Youhei asks, and I raise my eyebrows ar Okazaki.

"His house is up north. So when he graduates, he probably won't ever come back to this town." Okazaki continues, ignoring us. "So he wants to create a memory with the man he looks up to, you, Yoshino-san, before he departs." My eyes widen...that's right. Youhei...he might not come back. I bite my lip and stare at the ground.

"I see. Sorry for being so thoughtless." Yoshino says, turning back towards us.

"Then...?" Okazaki starts.

"Yeah, I'll make some time." Yoshino responds, and with that, he gets into his car and drives away.

"You-chan..." I murmur.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Rin-chan?" Youhei asks, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"You-chan..." I repeat, tearing up, then throw my arms around him.

"E-Eh?! Rin-chan?! D-Did I do something?!" Youhei exclaims, putting his arms around me.

"I...don't want you to go anywhere..." I murmur. "I want...I want you to stay with me!"

"Rin-chan. I'm not going anywhere without you." Youhei replies, hugging me tightly, and I'm about to reply when there's an awkward 'ahem', and I see Okazaki coughing.

"We should go see if Misae's up for baseball, too." Okazaki suggests, and I blush and pull away from Youhei, and take his hand.

We go over to Youhei's apartment, and find Misae.

"What did you all want me for?" She asks as we go up to her.

"Let's play baseball!" Youhei says, striking a pose.

"No. Bye." Misae says, closing the door.

"It looks like it's better for you to stay quiet." Okazaki says, looking at Youhei.

"Why?!" Youhei asks, and I pat his head.

"I agree with Okazaki-kun. You have a tendency to say weird things." I say, giggling. Tomoyo walks up to the door.

"Misae-san, can you hear us out?" Tomoyo asks.

"You still need something?" Misae asks, opening the door.

"Let's play base-" Youhei starts, and I slap my hand over his mouth.

"Not now, You-chan." I say, he fidgets, then rolls his eyes, and stops. I keep my hand over his mouth.

"Oh, Sakagami-san. Are you here to ask questions about the student council again?" Misae asks Tomoyo.

"Not today. We wish to play baseball with you." Tomoyo explains.

"Baseball?" Misae repeats.

"Yes. You're...my goal. And I want to be your rival, as well. If we can fight through sports, I'm sure there is much that I can learn from you. Could you come play with us?" Tomoyo asks, and Misae laughs nervously, then sighs.

"I can't say no when I see those eyes." Misae replies, and suddenly I feel something wet touch my hand. I jump up, pull my hand away...from Youhei's mouth...so that means...

"Did you just lick me!?" I gasp, turning bright red.

"Yep." Youhei replies, smirking.

"K-Kyaaaaa!" I squeal, and race down the hallway. "I-I'm going h-home!"

"Wait! Rin-chaaaaaaan~" Youhei shouts, chasing after me.

OoOoOoOoOoO

On Sunday, we have our promised baseball game, and I get to see Youhei wearing cute gym clothes wait ignore that last part, okay?

"Bring it in, everyone!" Nagisa's father, Akio, shouts, and Youhei stands up.

"I gotta go. Cheer me on, okay?" Youhei asks, winking, and I smile.

"I will! Good luck...Youhei-sama! I know you can do it!" I say, kissing him on the cheek then rushing over to sit down.

"The game's starting!" Nagisa smiles.

"Do your best, Onee-chan!" Ryou calls.

"Good luck, Yu-kun!" The teacher from before, shouts.

"You can do it, You-chan!" I yell, giving him a thumbs-up sign.

"Everyone, fight!" Sanae shouts.

Akio throws the ball, and it flies through the air, where Youhei catches it, his eyes widening at the speed.

"My hand's gonna die!" Youhei wails.

"No one cares about your hand, so make sure you catch it!" Kyou yells, and I stand up.

"H-Hey! I care about You-chan's hand! Be careful out there, You-chan!" I call. Youhei sticks his tongue out at Kyou, then waves to me, and I roll my eyes. Geez, Youhei...

Next, Youhei misses the ball when it comes to him, and he walks back towards us.

"That's a horrible start for us." Kyou mutters. "You're a pox on the team."

"We're up against a Koshien-level pitcher! Can you hit it?!" Youhei shouts.

"Don't say that, Kyou-san! You-chan's doing his best! And he caught the ball before!" I say, walking over to him and hugging him. "Don't let Kyou-san bring you down!"

"Hey! I'm right here, you know!" Kyou sighs. "Let me show you what I can do." With that, she walks towards the playing field. She goes up, and hits the ball, and it goes flying away from her.

"Wooow, she is pretty good!" I say, and Youhei gasps.

"I-I can do that! Let me go third!" Youhei wails to Akio.

"Do you not know the rules?" Akio replies, sighing, and I go over to Youhei and pat him on the back.

"I still think you did amazing." I say shyly, shuffling my feet.

"R-Really?" Youhei asks, blushing, and I nod. "I mean, I did catch that ball before after all." As Tomoyo steps up to bat, Youhei grabs one of the extra bats and practices swinging it around.

"Be careful with that, You-chan!" I say as he whirls it in the air.

Youhei rolls his eyes, then swings it back, and it hits him in the head, causing him to fall over.

"You-chan!" I gasp, and kneel down beside him. "What did I just say?!"

He rubs his head, and groans.

"Honestly..." I sigh, and kiss his head. "Can you still play?" Youhei immediately shoots up.

"Of course I can! This is nothing!" Youhei replies, and goes back out to the field.

Suddenly, Akio falls to the ground, and everyone goes to surround him.

"Are you okay?!" I ask.

"Akio-san!" Sanae calls.

"What happened?!" Kyou asks.

Akio suddenly demands that Nagisa play in place of him, and we manage to make it through with her.

"Whoa, an accidental hit." Youhei comments as Kotomi hits the ball, and it goes flying.

"Kotomi! Run!" Okazaki calls to her, and Kotomi dashes to the next base, and she makes it.

"I made it!" Kotomi cheers, and I smile and high-five her as she comes back to us.

"I'm up next." Youhei says, stretching.

"Good luck, You-chan! I'll be cheering for you!" I say, and we give each other thumbs-up signs, then Youhei waves and walks to the field, carrying the bat...only to come back, slumping on the ground.

"You idiot! Kotomi was on the base and you wasted it!" Kyou shouts.

"You suck, Sunohara." Misae says.

"So lame..." Mei mutters.

"N-Now, now, You-chan tried his best! You don't have to be so mean to him!" I wail, standing in front of Youhei.

"You really don't have to defend Youhei all the time, Rin. He's naturally helpless. So there's no point in it." Kyou says to me, and I frown.

"Still..." I say. "You-chan tried his best, that's all that matters."

I watch the rest of the match in a kind of daze, from the people constantly running around on the field and the dazzling sunlight in the sky.

"I'm sorry, everyone." Nagisa says sadly, walking up to us as she missed the ball.

"It's not your fault, Nagisa. They're too strong." Youhei says, and I nod.

"Exactly." I say.

"It was off your wild throw that the last run advanced." Kyou says to Youhei.

"Before that, you made the wrong play." Tomoyo tells him.

"It was also you who missed the pop fly and let the runner who scored the fifth run reach base." Mei adds.

Youhei sniffles, and I roll my eyes and pat him on the head.

"They're too strong, You-chan. So don't worry about it." I say, ruffling his hair. And he smiles half-way and ruffles mine.

"I locked up." Misae says, walking up to us with a bat.

"One down...Nagisa, go on." Akio says.

"Y-Yes!" Nagisa replies, putting on the helmet, grabbing the bat, and going up to the field.

"Calm down, Nagisa-san!" Mei calls.

"Concentrate, Nagisa-chan." Sanae smiles.

"Swing as hard as you can!" Kotomi shouts.

"Relax, relax!" Kyou yells.

"You can do it, Nagisa-chan!" I say.

"Don't worry about getting out. Swing hard so you don't regret anything." Okazaki calls.

"So I won't regret..." Nagisa repeats, and the ball comes flying towards her. She just makes it, and she wings the bat so it hits the ball, and it goes flying into the air.

"I did it!" Nagisa smiles.

"Good! That's my daughter!" Akio shouts, while the rest of us clap. Tomoyo goes next, pitching the ball, only to have it get caught.

"Can't do anything about that one. It was unlucky." Akio says. Suddenly Yoshino stands up.

"Am I smiling right now?" Yoshino asks, his face blank.

"No, not at all." Youhei answers.

"Sorry for being like this..." Yoshino mutters. "Sorry for being so pathetic...Sorry for being this kind of memory...But! I will smile in the end!" And with that, he puts on the helmet, grabs the bat, and goes up to the field.

He hits the ball, and it shoots through the air, and Nagisa runs between bases.

"Alright, we have two runners on base!" Akio cheers.

"Children..." Yoshino says. "This is the best gift...Oh, time out. This is the best gift I can give you right now. A gift without form called memory. I don't have money. I can't buy you anything with form. Even so, without form, a memory will last forever! I believe it will."

"I-Is he okay?" I ask, turning to Kouko.

"Oh, Yu-kun's always like this." Kouko smiles, and I blink, then shrug.

"Uh, are you done?" One of the baseball guys asks.

"Yeah, thanks." Yoshino says, running back to the field.

"Good job, Yu-kun!" Kouko claps.

Mei goes up next, then Okazaki.

"Hey, brat." Akio says to Okazaki. "It's two outs, bases loaded. You can't go for a squeeze. Everything's up to you now.

"But my shoulder is..." Okazaki mutters, frowning.

"Okazaki-san! Fight!" Sanae cheers.

"You'd better let Nagisa step on home plate." Kyou smiles.

"Please give it your best, Okazaki-kun." Ryou adds.

"You can hit it, Okazaki." Tomoyo encourages.

"Good luck, Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi says.

"You can do it, Okazaki-kun!" I shout.

"Bring the win back to this town." Akio says, and Okazaki takes his position on the field. The ball comes towards Okazaki...and he sends it flying! Nagisa runs as fast as she can, and we have a victory!

"Yay! We did it!" I shout, clapping my hands.

"Yes!" Kyou cheers.

We won!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After our victory, we all head to Nagisa's place for a celebratory dinner.

"Man, I'm exhausted." Youhei says, yawning.

"You hardly did anything!" Kyou shouts, and Youhei flinches.

I pat Youhei on the back. "You did an amazing job, You-chan." I say, glancing at Kyou, and she sighs and smiles.

"Y-You think so?" Youhei says, perking up, and I laugh and nod.

"Misae-san. May I come visit your home again?" Tomoyo asks Misae as we sit around the table.

"Sure. Come any time you like." Misae replies.

"Sorry for the wait!" Kouko calls, stepping into the room with a tray of food.

"Eat all you like." Sanae says, coming in after her, also with a tray of food.

"It looks very, very good!" Kotomi comments, and I nod in agreement, as Sanae and Kouko sets their trays down.

"I've been wondering all this time, but who is she?" Youhei asks. "Nagisa's sister?"

"Something like that." Okazaki replies.

"She's Nagisa's mother." I say, sighing, and give Okazaki a look.

"Really? Her mother?!" Youhei repeats, and I laugh.

"Yep. Sanae Furukawa." I reply.

"That seriously felt good! This has got to be the strongest possible team!" Kyou cheers.

"You looked really good out there." Ryou smiles.

"And so did you, You-chan. Even if you did do a few stupid things." I say, patting him on the head.

"You didn't have to say that last part..." Youhei whimpers, and I giggle.

"Let's play another game with these members!" Akio says.

"If it's for the cause of making memories, call me anytime." Yoshino adds.

"Let's get this started! To celebrate the Furukawa Bakers' victory..." Akio raises his drink in the air, and everyone else does the same.

"Cheers!" We shout in unison, banging our glasses together.

oOoOoOoOoOo

**Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**

**Please review and tell me what you think~**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you very much KittyKatLover9000 for your review! :D I'm planning to have Youhei meet Rin's parents soon, hehe~I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"What? Mei's staying at Nagisa's again?" Youhei exclaims.

"We're perfectly happy having her. Since we all love Mei-chan." Nagisa replies.

"She called ahead and let her parents and school know." Okazaki adds. "Apparently she's worried about you. She said she wants to have a good talk with you later."

"Sunohara-san. Do you have a goal or something you want to do?" Nagisa asks, and I turn to Youhei, suddenly remembering the conversation we had a while back about family...

"I've never really about it. Rin-chan brings it up once in a while, though, so I guess I do think about it, but I don't have any real plans or goals. I can't go to college, so I'll find a job and work." Youhei replies, leaning back in his chair. "I figured I'd stay with Rin-chan. Although Mei keeps bothering me about if I don't try harder Rin-chan's going to leave me..." Youhei turns to me, looking on the verge of tears. "You won't ever leave me, right, Rin-chan?!"

I sigh and roll my eyes. "No, You-chan. I'm not going anywhere. But Mei-chan has a point. I'm worried about what you're going to do with your future."

"If I have you, that's all I need, right?" Youhei says dramatically, grabbing my hand.

I blush. "I-I can't be the only thing you have in your future..." I stammer.

"What about you, Rin-chan? Have you thought about your goals for the future?" Nagisa asks.

"Ehehehe...a-actually, I figured I'd just go with whatever happens. I've only thought about You-chan in the future, really..." I say, scratching the back of my head.

"Wait, Sunohara, you said Mei was worrying about Rin leaving you, right? Why don't you two go on more dates so you can prove that she's going to stay with you and Mei will stop worrying?" Okazaki suggests, and Youhei and I look at each other.

"That's...actually a good idea." Youhei says. "We haven't been able to go on dates lately because of our supplementary classes in the summer, but we have time now. So! Rin-chan!" He stands up out of his chair and pulls me up. "Let's go on a date!"

I hit his head. "You-chan. It's lunch time. We're still in school."

"Ow, geez..." Youhei sits back down. "Then after school?"

I smile and squeeze his hand. "After school sounds per~fect! Hahaha!"

"O-Okazaki-kun! Is she okay?!" Nagisa asks.

"Oh, she always gets like this whenever she's doing something with Sunohara, like going on a date." Okazaki replies. "I feel like there was someone else who would get like this at the mention of a starfish..."

"Ahahaha...Kyaaaa!" I squeal, smiling like an idiot. "You-chan, I love you~!"

This takes Youhei by surprise, and he wraps his arms around me. "Rin-chan, I love yooouu~!"

"Oh geez..." I hear Okazaki mutter.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What? Mei-chan wants to come with us on our date?" I ask as Youhei comes to pick me up.

"Yeah, apparently she's really surprised you're still with me, and she wants to make sure I'm not paying you or whatever. I had no idea people have such little faith in me..." Youhei sniffles. "Oh, Nagisa and Okazaki are tagging along, too. So it'll be a group date sort of thing, I guess?"

"Group date, huh...Date...with...You-chan!" I squeal, and bounce around happily. "Let's~go!" I say, grabbing Youhei's hand and skipping down the sidewalk. "Oh, you're wearing that adorable tuxedo again! Adorable~!"

"A-Adorable, h-huh?" Youhei stammers, blushing, and I smile.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed! Wait! What the heck have I been saying?! What's wrong with me!?" I gasp, snapping back to the present.

Youhei's about to respond, when Mei, Okazaki and Nagisa come walking towards us.

"Yo." Okazaki says as he and Nagisa walks towards us, and Mei looks at me suspiciously.

"Are you positive Onii-chan isn't paying you?" She asks, and I giggle.

"Yes, I'm sure." I reply.

"You really are a kind person to stay with Onii-chan this long...you're so kind, yet you're with Onii-chan...I feel sorry for you!" Mei wails, clinging to me, and I laugh, while Youhei gasps.

"W-What's that supposed to mean?!" Youhei shouts, trying to pry Mei off of me. "G-Get off of Rin-chan!"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! Are you really going to marry Onii-chan?" Mei asks, and this catches me off guard.

"M-M-Marry?! M-M-Marry Y-Y-You-chan?!" I stammer, turning bright red.

"M-Mei! What are you saying?!" Youhei says, finally managing to pull Mei away from me.

"Oh, you said you and Rin-san were going to get married, right?" Mei says, turning to look at me.

"I-Is t-that s-so, You-chan?" I say, gritting my teeth. The idea doesn't make me upset at all. In fact, it makes me really happy thinking about it...But he probably just said it so Mei would stop worrying...he probably didn't mean anything about it.

"Ah, um...sorry, Rin-chan..." Youhei murmurs.

I sigh. "It's fine...I-I mean it would be...nice, right?" I turn more red, then run ahead. "Come on, where should we go?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Hmm...have you guys ever been to a karaoke place before? I hear those are popular with couples." Mei suggests.

"Karaoke? That sounds like a good idea! Let's go everyone!" Youhei says, pumping his fist in the air and grabbing my hand. My eyes widen...karaoke? No way...

I'm silent the whole way as we go to the nearest karaoke place, and as we go inside the room. "Who's going to sing first?" Youhei asks. He's met with silence. "How about Rin-chaaaan~?" Youhei squeezes my hand and pulls me up.

"N-No!" I stammer, pulling my hand back, and Youhei stares at me with wide eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just...I'm horrible at singing, okay?!" I blurt out, blushing. "I can't sing..."

Youhei stares at me, blinks, then bursts out laughing. "You can't_ sing_?"

I blush even harder, crossing my arms. "I-It isn't that funny..." I huff.

Youhei smiles, still laughing a little. "I don't care if you can, or can't sing. I mean, I sing pretty well-" His sister hits him on the head. "But! Tonight's about having fun, so it doesn't matter what you sound like."

"Whoa...Onii-chan actually said something that made sense..." Mei gasps, and Youhei glares at her.

"Why don't we sing a duet?" Youhei suggests, and I manage to turn a darker shade of red.

"D-D-Duet?!" I repeat.

"Yep." Youhei winks. "Is that okay?"

"I-I-I-I-I..." I stammer.

"Onii-chan, you shouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to do." Mei chastises, and I shake my head.

"No...I want to d-do it!" I say, balling my fists.

"Really?" Youhei exclaims.

"Yes!" I huff. "So let's do it before I change my mind!"

"R-Right! So, um..." Youhei blushes and looks at me. Could it be...he's embarrassed too?

"Honestly, Onii-chan..." I can hear Mei sigh.

"D-Do you have a song i-in mind?" I ask.

"Y-Yeah..." Youhei replies.

"Onii-chan! Your taste in music is _awful_!" Mei exclaims, and I hold in a laugh.

"M-Mei! Shut it!" Youhei retorts, and I smile and pat his head.

"I'll sing whatever You-chan wants to...even if it is awful." I smirk, and Youhei looks like he's about to cry.

Finally, we pick a song, and the music turns on...

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Geez, I'm exhausted..." I groan, leaning on Youhei as we walk home, the starry sky above us.

"I am too..." Youhei says, leaning on me, leaning against him.

"You two are so alike..." Okazaki sighs.

"I'm taking that as a compliment." I say, smiling.

"So it appears Onii-chan has a real girlfriend..." Mei murmurs to herself.

"It's been like that for months now!" Youhei shouts at Mei, his eyes wide, and I giggle.

"You're so cute when you're angry, You-chan!" I smile.

He opens his mouth to shout something at Mei, then turns back to me, smiling. "R-Really?"

"Yep! You're always cute...Aaaahhh! I'm doing it again! What am I saying?!" I wail, covering my mouth. Youhei laughs, then I start to laugh, and soon all five of us are laughing.

"Hey, Rin-chan! Let's go on another date tomorrow!" Youhei says, and I stare at him.

"O-Okay!" I reply, then turn around to see Mei frowning a little...I guess she wanted to also spend some time with Youhei. "What about spending time with Mei-chan, though?"

"Haha, that can happen any time. I want to spend time with you." Youhei replies, and I blink.

"But Mei-chan can only be here temporarily. I'll always be here." I point out, and Youhei shrugs. I frown, and turn back at Mei, but she's staring at the ground.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Good morning, Rin-chan. And a toilet seat cover." Youhei greets me as I go to pick him up.

"Umm...good morning? What toilet?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"Okazaki told me to say that after every sentence. And a toilet seat cover." Youhei replies, and I roll my eyes.

"You idiot." I say, ruffling his hair, and he crosses his arms.

"Good morning Okazaki. And a toilet seat cover." Youhei says to Okazaki once the two of us get to school.

"You sound cheerful." Okazaki comments.

"Rin-chan, Okazaki, let's go get food. And a toilet seat cover." Youhei says.

"I'll only get food, thanks." Okazaki replies.

"Me too." I add.

"I can't wait for our date tonight, Rin-chan. And a toilet seat cover." Youhei smiles, and I blush.

"N-Neither can I..." I stammer.

"Mei-chan was really worried about you last night." Okazaki says as we walk down the hall. "She said you haven't changed even though you have such a nice girlfriend."

"I guess I really should start seriously thinking about the future. And a toilet seat cover. For Rin-chan's sake." Youhei responds.

"You'd actually think about something like that for Rin?" Okazaki exclaims, and I blush.

"When I was a kid, I had so many things I wanted to become." Youhei starts, and I sigh. This should be interesting. "A soccer player. A pilot. A teacher!" I blush. Youhei would be really cute as all of those things. "And...a toilet seat cover!" I burst out laughing.

"Toilet seat cover You-chan, huh?" I giggle.

"Those all sound difficult to become." Okazaki says.

Youhei sniffles and runs up to Okazaki. "I can't do it! Just adding 'and a toilet seat cover' at the end ruins any kind of serious talk!" Youhei wails.

"Then quit doing it." Okazaki replies, and I snort.

"You're the one who told me to do it!" Youhei yells.

"I did?!" Okazaki gasps.

"Geez, You-chan. I'm going to start calling you 'Toilet Seat Cover'." I tease.

"What?! Rin-chan?! Okazaki, look what you're making her do!" Youhei says, jumping up and down.

"Don't worry about it...Toilet Seat Cover." Okazaki says, and I laugh.

"Come on, Toilet Seat Cover, we gotta get our lunch." I say, my eyes tearing up from trying to hold in my laughter.

Youhei flails. "C-Come on Rin-chan! Don't call me that!"

"See ya...Toilet Seat Cover!" I snort, then race down the hallway so we can get our food.

"Well, I won't get mad at you guys today. A guy in love has a forgiving heart." Youhei says, his eyes sparkling, staring right at me and causing me to blush.

"You're in a really good mood, aren't you? Normally it's just Rin who acts like a love struck idiot." Okazaki says, and I glare at him.

"Of course I am! We have our date after school! It feels good being with Rin-chan!" Youhei sighs happily, putting his arms around me, and I turn more red.

"Y-You-chan, what are you d-doing?" I stammer, and his grip around me tightens.

"Being in love is the best thing ever, right?" Youhei says, snuggling into me.

"Y-Y-Y-You-chan!" I gasp, the shade of a tomato.

"Sunohara, shouldn't be worrying about Mei-chan a little?" Okazaki asks, and I blink. That's right...Mei had been acting weird last night.

"I'll talk to Mei another time. Right now I'm going to be with Rin-chan." Youhei replies, rather stubbornly, and my eyes widen.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Could you guys leave the two of us alone?" Youhei says as Mei, Okazaki, and Nagisa sit around his table.

"You-chan...!" I murmur, shaking my head.

"Hey! Your sister came all the way here to check on you. You shouldn't be saying that." Okazaki shouts.

"When in midst of love, sisters fall out of sight. Love is amazing!" Youhei sighs, and I glare at him. "Rather than that, Mei, shouldn't you go home soon?"

"I'm not going home yet." Mei replies. "There's something I have to do."

"You-chan, you really shouldn't-" He cuts me off.

"Something you have to do? Ah, I gotcha. So basically, checking up on me was just an excuse to begin with. She's always loved the city so she wanted to spend some time here. Right?"

"That's right." Mei replies.

"See?" Youhei smirks.

"But that's not at all. The person I like is here, so I came to meet him." Mei says, and my eyes widen.

"P-Person you like?!" Youhei repeats, his eyes widening as well. Nagisa and Okazaki also look pretty shocked.

"Someone I met the last time I was here." Mei continues. "He's really mature and he teaches me all sorts of fun things. And he's kind. He says I'm cute, too."

"M-Mei, hold on-" Youhei starts, but Mei cuts him off.

"Love is amazing, isn't it, Onii-chan?" Mei murmurs, and I cover my mouth with my hands.

"Wait! Who exactly is the-" Mei cuts him off once more.

"I'm supposed to see him after this. So I have to go right now." Mei stands up and opens the door. "Enjoy your time with Rin-san." And with that, she dashes out of the room.

"Mei-chan!" Nagisa shouts. "Please wait!" Nagisa runs out of the door, chasing after Mei.

"Hey, you should go after her, too!" Okazaki says, and I stand up.

"I agree. We need to after Mei-cha-" Youhei cuts me off.

"Today was supposed to be our date, right? And I'm sure Mei doesn't want me getting involved in her love life..."

"This guy could be some scumbag!" Okazaki shouts, standing up as well.

"But, love is a person's choice..." Youhei murmurs, and I shake my head.

"Okazaki-kun, you and Nagisa-chan take care of Mei-chan...I can't leave You-chan..." I say, staring at the ground.

Okazaki stares at me, then nods and runs out of the room, leaving me with Youhei.

"You-chan, that really wasn't right." I whisper, sitting down next to him. "If I'm going to make a gap between you and your little sister, I don't want tha-"

Youhei shakes his head. "Don't worry about Mei. I'm sure I can get something figured out with her."

I sigh. "You-chan, you should be more concerned about her. You don't even know what this guy she's dating is like!" I say. "How about tomorrow, after we hang out for a bit, you go talk to Mei-chan, okay?"

"B-But-"

"No 'buts'. That's final. Come on, we have tonight to be with each other and tomorrow morning. So let's enjoy it while we can. I'm really worried about your sister though..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Where should we go today?" I ask Youhei as the two of us walk down the sidewalk, holding hands.

"Hmm, there's this new shop that opened up and-" Suddenly, Ryou, Kyou, and Kotomi come running towards us, tears in Ryou's eyes.

"R-Ryou-chan? What's wrong?!" I gasp as they dash towards us.

"O-Okaza...PERVERT!" Kyou pants, and before I can question further, the three run down the sidewalk, faster than I've seen them run before.

"Okaza...?" I shrug, and squeeze Youhei's hand. "Is there some kind of pervert in this area?"

Youhei puts his arm around my shoulders. "If there is, I'll protect you." I glance up at him, about to reply, when I see a serious expression on his face, instead of a teasing-around one.

"R-Right!" I blush, and we walk towards where most of the shops and stands are. "A crepe place! I wonder if the crepes are good..."

"Do you want one?" Youhei asks, and I nod. He buys me the strawberry one, then takes a bite out of it.

"Yep. It's good." Youhei says, handing it to me.

"H-Hey!" I exclaim, taking a bite too.

"What? I needed to taste-test it." Youhei smirks, licking his lips.

"Geez...Toilet Seat Cover!" I laugh, and poke his waist, then run off before he can get me back. "Come and get me!"

Youhei's eyes widen and he laughs, then chases after me. I run a little while longer then turn around and notice Youhei isn't chasing me anymore.

"Huh? You-chan?" I ask, walking back over to him. I notice he's staring ahead at something in front of us, with a slight frown on his face, but other than that, his expression seems...empty. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"Yo." Okazaki says, walking towards us, with...Mei? But Mei's hanging back.

"Where've you two been?" Okazaki asks us, smiling. But Youhei's still frowning.

"I've been out with Rin-chan. What were you two doing?" Youhei asks.

"We were looking for-" Okazaki starts, but Youhei cuts him off.

"What's this?" Youhei mutters, plucking something out of Mei's hands.

"You-chan, you shouldn't just-" I start.

"What's the meaning of this?" Youhei asks, and I peer over his shoulder to see...a bunch of pictures of Mei and Okazaki together, obviously from the photo booth.

"It's none of your business!" Mei replies. "Give it back!"

"Man, looks like the truth has come out..." Okazaki says, and I turn to him and raise my eyebrows.

"Huh?" Youhei says, glaring at Okazaki.

"It's just as you imagined. Mei-chan's boyfriend turns out to be me." Okazaki replies, and my eyes widen in horror.

"What happened to Nagisa-chan?" Youhei and I ask at the same time.

"Obviously, I'm breaking up with her." Okazaki mutters.

"What?! That's horrible!" I exclaim.

"The truth is, Mei actually has been staying over at my place. Right, Mei?" Okazaki says.

"No way..." I murmur.

"Y-Yeah. I was alone with Okazaki-san, too." Mei replies, and Youhei stiffens.

"Shall we get a move on, Mei?" Okazaki asks, putting his arm around Mei.

"Yes." Mei says, and with that the two of them walk away.

"Wait..." Youhei whispers. They don't even turn around. "I said wait..." Youhei says, then turns around and kicks the toy machine next to us. I don't even bother telling him to stop.

_You-chan...looks so sad._

Why wasn't I able to do anything about it? Didn't I say...I would try to take all his pain away?

"You-chan..." I murmur, and put my hand on his shoulder. I almost expect him to pull away...but he doesn't.

"Why does it have to turn out like this...? Damn it..." Youhei mutters, not pulling away from me, but ignoring my presence. I pull my hand away from his shoulder and stop walking. I don't think Youhei notices.

"I-I'm...sorry..." I whisper, then before he can do anything, I run off. I screwed up...I...should stay away for a little bit, right?

oOoOoOoOoOo

**Get ready, everyone! It's gonna get crazy in the next chapter! Or I tried to make it crazy XD**

**Thank you all so much for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you so much PauloPT90 for your favorite, follow, and kind review! I am so glad you're enjoying the story so far! And I'm definitely planning on completing this fic, from start to finish. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**And thank you AHero7 for your favorite and follow!**

**Note to everyone: This was my longest chapter yet XD I am so sorry XD I couldn't find a good place to separate it and I couldn't stop adding more and anyways, be ready for a long ride.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

For the next couple of days, I stay home, laying in bed.

Now that I've though rationally about it, running away was a stupid thing to do...This is just like before, isn't it? When Kyou had accidentally told Youhei I liked him...I had run away then, too...and didn't go back to school for a while.

But, I wasn't able to protect Youhei like I promised I would. He looked so sad...I don't want to ever see him like that again. What can I do...? I should stop being such a coward.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. I sit up, waiting, when I remember I'm home alone. Taking my time, I roll out of bed and walk downstairs, then peer out the door.

It's Nagisa, Mei, and Okazaki. What could they want?

"...Come in." I say finally, opening the door all the way.

"Good morning, Rin-chan. Sorry for intruding." Nagisa says, bowing. "How are you? Both you and Sunohara-san have been absent from school for a while."

My eyes widen at this. "You-chan's been gone, too?"

"Yes. That's one of the reasons we came to talk to you...He hasn't shown up at school or his dorm, so we were wondering if he contacted you in some way..." Nagisa replies.

"What? N-No...I haven't talked to You-chan at all recently..." My heart races. What if he got himself in trouble?! "Wait...Nagisa-chan? I thought Okazaki-kun broke up with you..."

I say, and Okazaki sighs, steps in to the room, and explains everything.

"So...that was just something to see if You-chan would worry..." I repeat, shaking my head. "That You-chan...Mei-chan, he is worried about you." I say, frowning. "Although, he can be a bit careless at times...so anyway, you said you wanted to go see if the Soccer Club would let You-chan join so he can go back to being his old self?"

"Yes. I was hoping it would give Onii-chan a kick start or whatever he needed, since he'll be graduating soon..." Mei replies, and I rub my chin.

"Is that really a good idea? You-chan has that horrible past with the Soccer Club after all...I don't want him to get hurt again." I ask.

"We figured we should at least try." Mei replies, looking determined, and I smile half-way.

"Well, I'm in. As long as You-chan doesn't get hurt in the process..." I murmur. "Let's go!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

"What? Did you say Youhei Sunohara?" One of the guys from the Soccer Club gasps as we go up to them. They're very intimidating, and I try my best to look a little tough, although it doesn't work at all...Where's Tomoyo when you need her?

All of the men turn their heads at the mention of his name, and I gulp.

"Winter's the critical season for high school soccer, right? Even a senior should be able to participate." Okazaki says.

"Could you let him play again?" Nagisa asks.

"Please. It's very important." I add.

The man snorts. "Shut your trap. We don't even want to hear his name. Get lost!"

"Um! My name is Mei, I'm Youhei Sunohara's younger sister." Mei says, and my eyes widen, then I step forward.

"And my name is Rin Kimura, You-chan's, er, Youhei Sunohara's girlfriend." I add, standing in front of Mei protectively. "This is really important to Youhei. So please hear us out."

"Sunohara's little sister? His _girlfriend_?" The man repeats incredulously.

"I'm aware how my brother has causes trouble to you all. But, please! At this rate, I think he'll become a loafer. So-" One of the other men cut her off.

"He was a loafer to begin with." He says.

"Yeah. A loafer will be a loafer no matter what he does." Another man adds.

"H-Hey! Don't speak about You-chan that way!" I say, balling my fists, but Okazaki steps beside me, puts his hand on my shoulder and shakes his head.

"Heh. We'll speak about _You-chan_ however we feel like. Okazaki, you're the same as him, so don't you understand that logic? And you too. You're repeating a grade and are an outcast, too, right? And you, if you're dating that idiot Sunohara, you must be worse than both of them." My eyes widen, along with Nagisa's, and this catches Okazaki off guard. Okazaki immediately tenses.

The men all burst into laughter. "Loafers should hang out with loafers." I grit my teach as they say this, about to step forward when Okazaki beats me to it. However, Nagisa stops him.

"Tomoya-kun." Nagisa says, and Okazaki turns to Mei, who's staring at the ground.

"We need to get out of here." I mutter, and we all go up to where Yukine is.

"Sorry. I should have gone there alone first." Okazaki says as we all sit down.

"No! It's a good thing you didn't go alone." I say, frowning.

"I'm sorry, too. You all had to suffer because of me." Mei murmurs, and I shake my head.

"I would go through anything for You-chan..." I reply, then blush as I say this.

"You really are a kind person, Rin-san." Mei smiles, and I blush more.

"N-Not really...I just...want to protect You-chan..." I say, fidgeting slightly.

"Would you like another cup, Mei-chan?" Yukine asks, holding up her coffee pitcher.

"Yes! Thank you very much." Mei replies, and holds out her cup.

"Now that I think about it, I don't think it would be a good thing if the Soccer Club did accept You-chan back. I don't want him being around such awful people..." I murmur, and Mei stares at me with wide eyes.

"Sorry if we're imposing on you." Okazaki says to Yukine. "I had a feeling you would listen to something like this."

"I'm completely fine. Since I have guests with an assortment of problems needing advice come here often." Yukine replies, filling up Mei's cup. "Okazaki-san. If it's all right, would you share what happened between Sunohara-san and the Soccer Team?"

I tense a little as she says this, since I know the story well...

"Can I Mei-chan? Rin?" Okazaki asks, and Mei nods.

I frown, then finally nod as well.

"He started a fight when he was a freshman. Our school's Soccer Team has a tradition of underclassmen being hazed by upperclassmen. The hierarchy within the team is atrocious." Okazaki explains, and I bite my lip. "Apparently, Sunohara couldn't stand that. The first time I met him was then. I got in a fight somewhere else and bumped into him near the faculty room, and we've been hanging out since."

"I never knew that part." Mei says.

"You-chan...it's so horrible...man, I'd never forgive those guys who bullied him..." I mutter.

"Sunohara wasn't completely free from blame, either." Okazaki points out, and I look away. "Because of the fight, the team had to withdraw from the rookie tournament that year. Sunohara left the team afterwards."

"So the Soccer Team hasn't forgotten what happened then." Nagisa comments.

"If so, would Sunohara-san be able to enjoy playing soccer in an environment like that?" Yukine asks.

"I don't know." Mei replies, frowning.

"That's what I'm saying...I don't think he'd enjoy it very much with such cruel people." I say.

"But soccer's the only way to get Onii-chan back to who he used to be." Mei adds.

"Can that really be the only way...?" I ask, and Mei stares at me.

"There's no point in getting worked up about it if Sunohara isn't around." Okazaki points out.

"He's so hopeless..." Mei sighs, and I smile half-way.

"Have I ever told you the story of my older brother?" Yukine asks.

"You have an older brother, too?" Nagisa asks.

"My brother would not go to school; instead he'd loiter around party town and constantly get into fights. He was detained by the police several times, too." Yukine explains, and my eyes widen.

"Your big brother?" Mei exclaims.

"I never would've guessed." Okazaki says.

"Siblings can be strange." Yukine replies, smiling.

"But you like your brother, right?" Mei asks.

"I used to think of him as a scary person, but I understand him well now. He has many good traits, but he can't express them well. He was simply clumsy." Yukine says.

"That reminds me of You-chan, kinda..." I say smiling. "I...I don't think he has to change. I mean, of course he needs to try harder for his future. But...I love You-chan just as he is. You-chan will be You-chan no matter what." I'm blushing, and I realize that I'm standing up, so I sit back down.

"Y-You have a point..." Mei responds. "How do you get along with your brother now?" Mei asks Yukine.

"We get along very well." Yukine smiles.

oOoOoOoOo

"You-chan! You're back!" I say, throwing my arms around him, then frowning and pulling away. "I'm sorry about the other day...It's been bothering me a lot, I just felt so bad that that happened and I didn't know what to do..." I bow. "So I'm really sorry. Are you okay?"

Youhei frowns and stares at the ground. "Yeah...I'm okay..." He walks back to his chair, and I suddenly feel a pang in my heart.

"You-chan..." I murmur, and sit in my seat.

"Sunohara, what were you doing yesterday?" I hear Okazaki ask Youhei.

"It's my business what I do." Youhei retorts, and I stare at my desk.

"You don't care about what Mei-chan's doing?" Okazaki asks.

"Why are you even asking that? Mei was with you, right? I'm too busy worrying about my future with Rin-chan." Youhei replies, and my heart skips a beat. "I don't have time to worry about Mei." And this, makes my heart fall.

"Do you seriously mean that?" Okazaki exclaims.

"Yeah. I'll leave Mei to you. Make sure you take good care of her." Youhei replies.

"You'd better quit it now." Okazaki mutters.

"What are you angry about?" Youhei asks. "I bet Mei doesn't care about her either." Okazaki slams his hand on the desk, and my eyes widen as he grabs Youhei's shirt collar. I stand up abruptly, and my chair falls over.

"SUNOHARA!" Okazaki yells.

"Okazaki-kun! Sunohara-kun!" Ryou shouts.

"What do you think Mei-chan's doing?" Okazaki asks.

"I don't know." Youhei replies. "But I bet her and you are having a good time together."

"Ask the Soccer Team yourself! They'll tell you how much she's thinking about you!" Okazaki yells.

"What are you talking about?" Youhei mutters, glaring at him. "You're not making any sense."

"Stop it!" I shout, running over and pushing Okazaki off of Youhei. My eyes widen as Okazaki raises his hand, but he quickly lowers it when he sees it me.

"Don't get involved, Rin." Okazaki murmurs.

"Don't tell Rin what to do!" Youhei shouts, and pushes himself in front of me. "Do you wanna fight, Okazaki?"

I frown and stand in front of Youhei again. "_Stop it_! Both of you!" I shout, on the verge of tears. "Okazaki-kun, please don't hurt You-chan!" I wail, my fists shaking. "And You-chan, please don't start a fight!"

At that moment Kyou and Kotomi burst into the room.

"What's going on?!" Kyou asks, staring at the three of us.

"What happed Rin-chan?" Kotomi asks.

"I...I..." I stammer.

"Tomoya-kun, Sunohara-kun, I don't think fighting is good!" Kotomi says. With that, Tomoya storms out of the room.

"Tomoya!" Kyou gasps.

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi exclaims.

Youhei glares at him as he leaves the room, then turns to me. "Rin...are you okay?" He asks, his voice softening.

"I-I'm fine, You-chan...you scared me for a moment...what's going on? Why did you and Okazaki-kun get so angry?" I ask, and Youhei's face turns into an angry glare again.

"I'm going home." Youhei mutters, walking out of the room.

"Wait! You-chan!" I call, dashing after him.

"Don't follow me!" Youhei shouts, then his eyes widen, and before I can reply, he runs down the hallway, disappearing down the stairs.

"You-chan..." I sniffle.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So you got in a fight?" Mei asks Okazaki as the four of us sit on a bench outside.

"Yeah. I lost my head." Okazaki replies.

"What's Onii-chan doing now?" Mei asks.

"He left school and skipped his afternoon classes." Okazaki responds, and my heart sinks.

"I see." Mei says, standing up.

"Are you going to the Soccer Team again?" Okazaki asks her.

"Yes. After hearing Miyazawa-san's story, I feel like I have to try harder." Mei smiles, and I stand up as well.

"The same goes for me. If you think this is what's best for You-chan, there's no way I'm giving up." I say. Okazaki stands up, too.

"I can go alone, really." Mei says to me and Okazaki. "I can't trouble you anymore with this sibling matter."

I shake my head. "I'm going with you, for You-chan's sake."

"And it's no trouble at all!" Nagisa adds.

"No, Nagisa, you go on home." Okazaki says, turning to Nagisa. "You should too, Rin."

"Why?" Nagisa and I ask in unison.

"You know what kind of a bunch the Soccer Team is. We don't know how the meeting may get twisted. Just Mei-chan and I should go." Okazaki says.

"I won't allow that! I can't just let the two of you go after hearing that." Nagisa says.

"I agree." I say, crossing my arms.

"What would you do if they started getting violent? If it turns into a fight, I won't be able to cover you." Okazaki points out.

"If that happens, I'll run away with Mei-chan and Rin-chan." Nagisa replies, and I nod. "Even if anything were to happen to you, I'm there, so I can get Mei-chan out of trouble."

"Same here." I say.

"You really are stubborn when it comes to something like this." Okazaki sighs, and the four of us walk together to the soccer field.

"You guys really are persistent." One of the Soccer Team guys says.

"We're asking knowing it's impossible." Okazaki says.

"Please let Sunohara-san back on the team!" Nagisa begs.

"Please, please let him back on! It's really important!" I say, clasping my hands together.

"It's fine if he can't play in the games. Just letting him participate in practice is enough." Mei insists.

"Hey! Do you see anything in it for us?" The guy asks. "We'll just get an extra obstacle on the team."

"If there's anything I can do, let me know!" I say.

"If there's anything I can help with, please let me!" Mei says at the same time.

"Captain, practice is starting. Please forget about them and come over here." Another soccer kid says, kicking around a soccer ball.

"Yeah." The captain replies.

"Wait!" Mei says, throwing herself in front of the captain.

"We know we're being unreasonable. But please! We're begging you!" Okazaki says, bowing in front of him, and I run over to them.

"Please!" I say, bowing along with Okazaki.

"Wow. I never imagined Okazaki would bow like this. I heard that you'd changed recently, but I guess the rumor was true." The captain says.

"Okazaki-san...Rin-san..." Mei murmurs.

"Go be a ball boy!" The captain says, and with that, he walks away.

"Thank you very much!" Nagisa, Mei, and I say in unison.

"Thank you very much Okazaki-san, Rin-san!" Mei smiles.

"Hey, I told you I'd do anything for You-chan, right?" I wink.

"Let's all do our best as ball boys!" Okazaki says.

"Yes!" We say, smiling.

_You-chan! Are you watching? We're getting you back on the team!_

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Don't over-exert yourselves since you're not that strong." Okazaki says to Nagisa and I on the field.

"I'll be fine. Please watch over Mei-chan for me." Nagisa replies.

"Me too. I can handle this, especially for You-chan." I say, and Okazaki blinks and nods. The soccer ball comes flying towards us.

"Go get it, ball boy!" One of the Soccer Team members smirks, and I ball my fists.

"I'll get it!" Okazaki says before I do anything. Another soccer ball flies towards us.

"Don't space out, ball boy!" He shouts, and I run after that ball. Another one, and another one go flying.

"Get moving, airheads!" Another Team member shouts, and Mei and Nagisa go running after them.

"You dumbass! Bring it over here!" A guy shouts at Mei, and I grit my teeth.

"Sorry!" Mei says.

"There goes another!" Another ball goes flying and I catch it.

"Move faster!" He says, kicking several more balls towards us.

"Tomoya-kun!" Nagisa gasps.

"They're doing it on purpose." Okazaki mutters.

"I don't care if they are or not. It's completely unfair, but I'm still doing this no matter what for You-chan." I say, and Okazaki raises his eyebrows and shakes his head.

"What's wrong? Tired already?" A guy teases. Okazaki grits his teeth and goes after the balls, while I follow him. I have to do this! For Youhei! But, I'm already so exhausted...

"Nagisa? Mei-chan? Rin? Are you okay?" Okazaki pants.

"I'm...fine..." I pant. "What about you?"

"I'm totally fine." Okazaki replies.

Another ball goes flying in the air.

"You guys catch your breath!" Okazaki shouts, and my eyes widen as he runs after it. _Whoosh!_ I take a deep breath and run after the next soccer ball that flies by.

Suddenly there's a scream.

My eyes widen as Mei falls to the ground. Those idiots kicked her in the stomach!

"Mei-chan!" Nagisa gasps, and I drop the ball I was carrying and run to her side. "Mei-chan!" Nagisa says again, and we kneel beside her.

"No, it's because I wasn't paying attention..." Mei whimpers, and I ball my fists.

"Those jerks..." I mutter, standing up.

"Don't." Okazaki says, and I frown and kneel back down.

"Mei-chan, you should-" Nagisa starts, but Mei cuts her off.

"I'm fine. That was nothing." Mei murmurs, clutching her stomach, and I bite my lip as another soccer ball rolls past us.

"Stop wasting time, trash!" A guy shouts, and my eyes widen.

"Dammit, these guys are seriously pissing me off..." I growl, standing up.

"Yes!" Mei says, before I can do anything, and dashes after the soccer ball. I shake my head and run after her. We have to keep going. We have to.

For Youhei.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After we dash after soccer balls like a pack of dogs, we're left to rake the fields in the evening sunlight, completely out of breath and drenched in sweat.

"We're done." Mei says as we go back to where the Soccer Team is.

"Good work." A man replies.

"Um, where did the other members go?" Nagisa asks. Most of the members we talked to are gone.

"They went home." He responds, reading a manga.

"Eh?" Mei gasps.

"Practice is over." One man says.

"We'll listen to whatever you have to say to them." Another guy smirks.

"So what did you guys want?" The guy reading the manga asks.

"Um, about my brother, Youhei Sunohara. We would like you let him back on the team." Mei says.

"Ah, sorry. Don't think so." He replies.

The three of us gasp.

"Who would let a pest like your brother on the team?" He asks, laughing.

"Don't talk about You-chan that way! What's wrong with y-" I begin, but Okazaki grabs my shoulder and pulls me back.

"Stop it. There's no use in picking a fight here." Okazaki tells me.

"Yeah. Sunohara is a wuss after all." Another guy adds. "A loser that just barks when he's got no balls to do something."

"A dropout that quit soccer and can't study for beans either." Someone says. This is seriously pissing me off.

"Where's the reason in helping a piece of trash like him?" The guy reading asks.

"_What _did you...say...about...You-chan?" I murmur, my fists shaking. "How _dare_ you! None of those things are even close to being true! You should all just _SHUT UP!_"

"Excuse me?" The guy reading says, standing up and walking towards me.

Okay, okay, that was seriously stupid. "U-Um, I..." I stammer. He pushes me against a wall.

"You don't have any right to be talking about us, or even to us. Bitch." He says, and my eyes widen.

"Let her go, you guys-" Okazaki shouts.

"Did you guys know that Sunohara knows what you guys are doing? Apparently he asked one of our younger guys. But so what? Your brother didn't show up at all. And you, your boyfriend didn't show up at all. You've been ignored. Despite what his sister, girlfriend, and friends are doing for him, he got scared of us and ran away. He is a hopeless piece of shit." One of the guys say.

Mei bursts into tears as she says this, and I struggle from the other man's grasp.

"Mei-chan!" Nagisa gasps.

Before I know it, I'm crying too. I'm so pathetic...

"Aw, look, you made them cry. You're becoming an eye-sore now. Go home."

"No, no...Onii-chan will come..." Mei cries. "He'll definitely come!

"Let me go!" I shout, but they don't move. Okazaki makes a move to come over to me, but the guys from the Soccer Team stand in front of him.

"What come won't come."

"He will. Onii-chan will. He'll definitely come save Mei and Rin-san." Mei whimpers, tears falling from her face.

"Is she an idiot? She is Sunohara's sister after all. Hey, come on now." One of the guys walks up to Mei and drags her over to him. "If you don't scream louder, your dear Onii-chan won't hear you."

"Stop it!" I shout. "Leave her alone!"

"You bastards! Stop it!" Okazaki shouts, trying to walk towards us once more.

"Didn't you hear me, bitch? You don't have any right to say anything." He says, shoving me again.

"You want to start a fight with all of us?" A guy asks Okazaki as they surround him.

"Th-That hurts!" Mei cries as the guy shakes her arm, and I bite my lip.

"I said _let her go!" _I shout, and the guy raises his hand above my face. My eyes widen.

"You guys...Sorry, Nagisa! I was planning on holding it in for Mei-chan's sake, but I'm at my limits!" Okazaki shouts. Time slows down as Okazaki walks towards the two of us, the hand about to hit my face coming slowly closer when suddenly someone pushes into the room, punching the guy who's in front of me, then kicking the guy who was holding Mei away from her.

"I won't forgive anyone who makes Mei cry! And..." Youhei shouts, pushing away a guy who comes towards him. "Anyone who hurts Rin!"

Three guys jump at Youhei, but he ducks and kicks them, slamming them into the wall. However, another guy slams Youhei into a table.

"You-chan!" I gasp. "Stop it!" Youhei ignores me, attacking people on all sides, and before I know it, Okazaki's thrown into the fight as well. I can't stop crying. Why can't I protect You-chan?! I try to jump in front of them, intervene in the fight but my legs are frozen solid and it's all I can do to watch with eyes wide in horror.

Suddenly, there's a clap of thunder outside, and it starts pouring rain as Youhei and Okazaki push the guys outside. There's so much punching, kicking and shoving I can't even tell what's going on.

"You-chan...You-chan!" I gasp as they manage to kick out every single one of the members. My legs finally work again, and I run over to him. "You idiot..." But he and Okazaki are having an intense conversation.

"Apologize to Mei-chan." Okazaki's saying to Youhei.

"Why?" Youhei asks.

"This never would have happened if you'd kept yourself right. You really are a worthless brother." Okazaki mutters, and my eyes widen.

"Don't say tha-" I'm cut off by Youhei.

"Are you picking a fight with me?" Youhei asks.

"Basically." Okazaki replies, and the two of them stand up.

"Tomoya-kun! Sunohara-san!" Nagisa gasps, comforting Mei who's still crying. The rain continues to pound on us, harder and harder, chilling me to the bone.

"Stop! Please stop!" Mei wails.

"W-What are you doing?!" I gasp as they face each other, then before I'm aware of what I'm doing, I throw myself in front of Youhei just as Okazaki is about to punch him, and I'm knocked over, my head throbbing. What did I just do...?

"How _dare _you!" Youhei says, and Okazaki knocks him over before Youhei can even get a punch in.

"You idiot!" Okazaki shouts as Youhei falls to the ground, climbs on top of him, and beings punching him relentlessly.

"No..." I murmur, my eyes filling with tears. "STOP IT!" I'm terrified. I'm terrified. I'm _terrified._

"Do you have any clue what Mei-chan went through because of you? What Rei did? What any of us went through?!" Okazaki asks, punching Youhei over and over again. "You have to be the one to look after her!"

_Crap! Legs, move!_

Youhei grabs Okazaki's hand as he's about to punch him again.

"Why you..." Youhei mutters.

"You're Mei-chan's brother! Think more of her!" Okazaki shouts.

"I did think of her!" Youhei yells.

"Don't lie to me! She was hooking up with a guy like me, and you didn't do anything! You didn't worry about her!" Okazaki retorts.

"I did! I sure did!" Youhei shouts back.

"Then why did you leave her?! If you have an excuse, say it!" Okazaki screams.

"I thought it was fine if it was you!" This catches Okazaki completely off guard, and Youhei uses this to his advantage, punching Okazaki in the face and sending him flying.

"I was planning on hiding and watching till the end. But because you were being so pathetic, I had to come out!" Youhei growls, climbing on top of Okazaki and punching his face.

_Move! MOVE! I can't stop shaking._

"Tomoya-kun! Sunohara-san!" Nagisa cries.

"Please stop it!" Mei wails.

My mouth flaps open and closed uselessly, like I'm some kind of fish.

"You should have protected Mei! Isn't that the boyfriend's role?!" Youhei demands, punching Okazaki again.

"Sunohara!" Okazaki yells, punching Youhei and pushing him off.

"You love Mei enough to break up with Nagisa, right? Then get your goddamn act together!" Youhei says, charging towards Okazaki, and finally, I can move.

I throw myself in front of Youhei, shaking like crazy. "Stop it...Stop it...Please, stop it..." I whimper, crying harder than ever. My head is still throbbing. I half-way expect him to push him off of me, but instead he just collapses on to the ground, and his arms tighten around me.

"You-chan...You-chan..." I repeat over and over again, burying my face into his soaking wet shirt. "Stop it, stop it, stop it..." The rain is so, so, so cold...I'm shivering.

"Rin-chan...Calm down..." Youhei says, and my eyes widen.

"Calm down? _Calm down?!_" I repeat. "Are you _insane_? I just saw you almost get the life beaten out of you! I can't freaking CALM DOWN!" I shout, balling my fists. "You are such a freaking _idiot__..." __  
_

Youhei laughs weakly, and I notice he's shivering too.

"Crap, we need to get you home now..." I murmur.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I don't think I've ever been so terrified in my entire life." I say as the two of us walk into the apartment, leaning on each other. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Hey..." Youhei says, staring at the ground. "You don't have to stay any more..."

I cross my arms. "I'm staying right here. I couldn't protect you...It's the least I can do." I say. Cold, I'm freezing cold...I think Youhei must've noticed, because he comes up to me and hugs me tightly. "Hey you're soaking wet, You-chan." I huff, trying to push him off.

"So are you." Youhei replies, laughing. "Your point is?" Suddenly he's staring at me, and my eyes widen, and before I know it, I feel his lips press against mine, and suddenly I'm not so cold anymore. "Sorry. Your lips were turning blue..."

I blush. "T-They were? I-I mean w-we were standing i-in the rain...and oh my gosh! We need to get you dried off! U-Um..." I stammer.

Youhei laughs. "Hold on a sec. I'll go change." He says, and with that he grabs some clothes and goes to his bathroom, while I'm left alone in his room.

I press my fingers to my lips, my whole body tingling...probably because I just got soaked. And also because Youhei kissed me...geez, we were standing in the rain, why were his lips so warm?! Eep! What am I thinking?

Youhei walks into the room with a towl draped on his shoulders, and I blush and look away as he turns to look at me.

"So, um, you probably don't have any other clothes with you, right?" Youhei asks, and I shake my head. He reaches into his closet then throws something to me. My eyes widen. "I-I d-don't want you g-getting a cold or a-anything...S-So, you c-can wear that, i-if you want..." Youhei stammers, blushing, and he looks away.

I blush super hard. "Th-Thank you..." I stammer, and step into the bathroom. I take off my school uniform, which is soaking and freezing cold, then slide on the t-shirt Youhei had given me. It's a plain black shirt, but it's soft, and it smells like Youhei...I, I mean, it's soft! Haha! I put on the sweatpants Youhei had also given me. The clothes are a little big, but that's a given. I grab a towel and dry out my hair, then drape the towel on my shoulders, stepping back into Youhei's room.

"U-Um, th-thank you a-again..." I murmur, then gasp. "Oh my god, your face...we need to bandage it, or something...um...Uwaah, I don't know what to do...Y-You probably need some ice, right?" I fuss. "Ice, ice, okay, where would I get ice...I'll be right back! I'm going to go down to the health center and grab some ice!" Before Youhei can respond, I rush out of the room, dash into the health center, where once again, there's no one there, then grab an ice pack.

Without thinking, I press the ice pack to Youhei's face, and he flinches.

"Ow..." He murmurs, and I pull it away.

"Ack! I'm sorry! I-I'm terrible with this...A-Are you okay?" I ask.

Youhei smirks and ruffles my hair. "Other than having the crap getting beaten out of me, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry..." I lower my head. "I was so scared...Don't ever scare me like that again, do you hear me?!"

"I-I hear you!" Youhei says, raising his hands defensively, and I let out a sigh of relief. "What about you, though? You took that first punch for me...That was pretty stupid of you, you know..."

I huff. "I'm fine! And I couldn't protect you entirely...You're the stupid one here, You-chan!"

Youhei rolls his eyes, then smirks and pinches my waist.

"Eep! Hey!" I gasp, blushing. "I was wrong to have even worried about you!" I huff, crossing my arms, and I turn away from him.

"R-Rin-chan! I'm soooorryyy~" Youhei says, jumping over and facing me.

"Really now?" I ask, and Youhei nods. I raise my eyebrows, smirk, and pinch his waist back.

"Rin-chaaan! Meanie!" Youhei wails, then smirks and runs towards me. I run away and laugh, then trip and fall on his bed.

"Kyaaa!" I squeal as he crosses his arms and walks over to me, when suddenly there's a voice that shouts 'Sunohara! You in here?!'

I guess this startles Youhei, because he jumps, trips on the bed like I did, and lands on top of me.

"W-Wh-What the hell are you doing?!" I gasp, when Misae walks in.

"Sunohara, I found the sock you were looking fo-OH MY GOD." Misae drops the sock she was carrying and stares at the two of us.

We immediately jump apart, my face the shade of a tomato. Probably even more red than that.

"I-I-I-It's n-not what it looks l-like!" I stammer. "I-I-I tripped and t-then You-chan did to-"

Youhei cuts me off and smirks. "It's exactly what it looks like."

"Sh-shut up, you stupid idiot! What are you s-saying?!" I stammer, and without thinking, I hit him on the head.

"Owww!" Youhei wails, falling back on the bed.

"Eep! Y-You-chan I'm sorry! Just don't say perverted things!" I huff, and turn back to Misae. "You see, I fell on the bed and then he fell too and, um, yeah..."

Misae raises her eyebrows at me. "You guys better not be doing naughty things in here."

"W-We aren't! We aren't! Dang it, You-chan!" I wail, blushing, and hide my face with my hands. Misae stares at the two of us for a while, then finally shrugs and leaves.

"You really need to keep your mouth shut." I say, turning back to Youhei.

He wiggles his eyebrows. "You know you like it~~!"

I turn the shade of a tomato once more. "You-chaaan..." I growl, then hit him on the head again.

"Ow, god! Okay, okay, I'm done!" Youhei sniffles. "Wait one more thi-"

I raise my eyebrows.

"Nevermind, nevermind." Youhei says, holding up his hands, and I roll my eyes and sit next to him.

"You-chan..." I murmur, my expression turning serious. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" He asks, holding my hand and noticing my expression.

"I've been thinking a lot...but I realized that I really want to be with you forever." I blush and look directly at Youhei. "Can I stay with you forever?...Will someone like me do?"

I can tell this catches Youhei off guard and he stares at me. "I...I want to stay with you forever, too. So yes...and of course you would."

"Hey, Rin-chan..." Youhei suddenly says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Can you stay over tonight?" Youhei asks, and my eyes widen.

"W-W-W-What?!" I stammer.

"N-Not like that! Not like that!" Youhei repeats, blushing. "I just...I don't want to be alone tonight...I don't want to leave _you _alone."

"R-R-Really?" I blush. "Oh wait, Misae-san said girls can't stay over at boy's dorms..."

"Oh that's right...I don't want you to get in trouble..." Youhei murmurs, but he's staring at me with puppy dog eyes.

I roll my eyes. "Fine, dang it. But what will you do if she catches us?"

"I'll just say we fell asleep watching movies or something." Youhei replies, and I sigh, blushing hard.

"You're gonna have to make up for this..." I say, leaning against him.

"What? You know you're enjoying this." Youhei smirks.

"Hmph. Maybe I am." I reply, pouting, trying to hide a smile. "Geez, You-chan..." I suddenly let out a yawn, causing Youhei to yawn too.

"Are you getting tired?" Youhei asks me, ruffling my hair.

I blush and shake my head. "O-Of course not!" I say, yawning right after, then blushing more. "M-Maybe a little...Oh u-um, where would I sleep? I guess on the floor..."

"N-No! You don't have to sleep on the floor! I-I can um, sleep on the floor..." Youhei stammers.

"No, no, that's wrong! I should be the one sleeping on the floor!" I insist, bright red. "O-Or, u-um..." I turn away.

"We could..." Youhei murmurs, blushing too.

"Y-Yeah..." I say, fiddling my fingers. "D-Do you, u-um, w-w-want...N-Never mind! I'll just sleep on the floor!"

"I don't want you to do that! I mean, really...we can..." Youhei says, blushing. I don't think I've ever seen him so nervous, and I giggle to myself. I cling to Youhei, and close my eyes. And after a little while, he lays back, one arm around me. My heart is pounding so fast, I can hear it in my ears, and I'm worried he can hear it too. We're both really tense, as well.

"S-So th-this is..." I stammer.

"Weird?" Youhei asks, raising his eyebrows.

"N-No not at all!" I blush. "I-I mean, i-it's nice...Dang it, I'm no good with words..."

Youhei laughs, and smiles, his eyes sparkling. "I think so too."

"R-Really?" I stammer, then pout. "You better not try anything weird!"

"I won't, I won't!" Youhei exclaims.

"Good." I reply, giggling, and soon, we're both laughing, even though there's nothing really funny. I think it's our nerves acting up. After a little while longer, I close my eyes.

"Y-You know...Y-You're really warm You-chan..." I blush, my eyes still closed. He tenses again as I say this, and I giggle, and soon I feel his hand ruffle my hair, and he relaxes, his arms still around me.

I must've fallen asleep, because when I wake up, there's light streaming through the windows. I blink my eyes in confusion and sit up, to see Youhei smirking.

"Morning, Princess~"

"K-Kyaa?! You-chan?!" I exclaim, then remember yesterday. "A-Ah, g-good morning...Wait, how long have you been awake?"

"Hmm, a little while now." Youhei says, leaning back.

"What? Why didn't you wake me up?!" I gasp.

"You looked cute and innocent when you were sleeping. The complete opposite of when you're awake." Youhei laughs, and I pout.

"You-chaaan..." I growl, and raise my hand to hit him on the top of his head, when I notice the bruises and black eye he has. "Y-you're...!" I gasp in horror, recalling the fight between him and Okazaki. "Oh my god..."

"Hey, this is nothing." Youhei says, winking, but I can tell he's in pain.

"We need to get you bandaged up right now." I declare, standing up, when my head starts throbbing.

"You got hit too, remember, Rin-chan?" Youhei says, standing up as well and putting his hand on my face.

"You got it a lot worse, though..." I frown. With that, we take turns in the bathroom to get ready for school, then the two of us head to the health center. This time, there is someone there, and I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed. The person there bandages up Youhei's and my faces, warning us not to get in anymore fights.

"My poor You-chan..." I giggle, and kiss his cheek. "You know, I know you aren't out of blame either, but I'm still upset Okazaki-kun hurt you like that..."

As if summoned by name, Okazaki, Nagisa, and also Mei, appear around the corner.

"Onii-chan! Are you okay?!" Mei gasps, running towards us. But Youhei isn't paying any attention to her. He's staring straight ahead at Okazaki, who's walking towards us.

I frown and stand protectively in front of Youhei as they come closer. Youhei and Okazaki continue to glare at each other like this for a few moments when suddenly, they both burst into laughter.

"Ah, um, You-chan? Are you guys okay?" I ask, and they continue laughing.

"Oh geez, Okazaki, you look _ridiculous_." Youhei snorts.

"And you, Sunohara, look like a complete _idiot_." Okazaki replies.

"Guys? What happened to your eyes?!" Kyou gasps, walking towards us. They ignore her and keep laughing, holding their sides.

"It looks horrible!" Ryou exclaims.

"But it looks like they're having fun." Kotomi comments.

"Onii-chan?" Mei asks.

They finally both calm down, catching their breath.

"What's wrong, Mei?" Youhei asks, wiping his eyes.

"I'll be heading home today...I wanted to say goodbye before I left." Mei murmurs, and Youhei frowns.

"You're going back already? I was hoping to spend a little more time with you..." Youhei replies, and I smile to myself. Looks like things are good between both Okazaki and Mei.

Mei's eyes widen and she smiles. "I'll be back before you know it. But I haven't been to school in over a week. I really need to be getting home. You take care of yourself, Onii-chan. And Rin-san..." She turns to me and bows. "Please continue taking care of my hopeless Onii-chan, Rin-san. You've been doing an amazing job. I'm glad someone like you is watching out for him."

I smile and hug her tightly. "I'll miss you, Mei-chan! I'll make sure to take care of hopeless You-chan no matter what." I reply, and Youhei gasps. "Take care on your way home!"

With that, she waves and walks away.

"Am I that hopeless?!" Youhei exclaims as we walk back towards school.

"Yep. Completely hopeless." I reply, smirking, and flick his forehead, and he flinches.

"Eep! Sorry!" I gasp and kiss his forehead, forgetting about his injuries. Youhei laughs and pinches my waist, and I jump.

Kyou coughs behind us. "Looks like you two are as lovey-dovey as ever. Rin's got that smile on she always gets when Youhei takes her out or something. Did you guys do something yesterday?"

"Ah, not really..." I reply, blushing.

"Yes, we did!" Youhei replies at the same time. "Rin-chan came over to my place and-" I slap my hand over his mouth.

"Nothing." I say.

"Ehh? Did something happen?" Kyou asks, raising his eyebrows.

"No, it isn't like that!" I wail, and Kyou laughs, and soon, we all are laughing.

_So I'll stay by your side forever, You-chan..._

oOoOoOoOoOo

**That was exhausting! This was my twentieth chapter! Oh my gosh, thank you all so much for staying with me this long! **

**Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **

**Please, please, review and tell me what you thought! It would mean so much to me!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you very much BufuuEgypt for your favorite and follow! :D Thank you so so so much!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

"Eep! Um, please let You-chan go!" I wail pathetically as Misae spins him around. She glances at me, shrugs, then slams him into a wall.

"You'll never do something like that again, got it?!" Misae demands.

"I-I'm sorry, I got it." Youhei replies, lifting his hand up.

"You-chan! Are you okay?!" I gasp, kneeling down next to him. He's lying face down on the floor. "Honestly..." I poke his cheek over and over again until he slaps my hand away.

"What are you doing?" Youhei asks, lifting his face up.

"I was poking your cheek, obviously." I reply, trying to keep my expression blank, holding in my laughter.

"I know what! Why?!" Youhei exclaims, sitting up and staring at me.

"Because you're adorable." I reply, raising my eyebrows, then burst out laughing. Youhei blushes and looks away, and I stand up and hold out my hand. "Come on...Toilet Seat Cover."

"W-What?! You're still doing that?!" Youhei gasps, and I giggle.

"Yep!" I wink. I turn around to see Okazaki and Nagisa standing in the doorway, talking to Misae.

"Come on, let's all go to talk in my room." Misae says, and Youhei and I look at each other, shrug, and we all walk to her room together.

"Um, we brought some leftover dishes for Sunohara-san." Nagisa says as we sit around the table in Misae's room. "Mom packed them thinking you'd be lonely with Mei-chan gone. But it looks like Rin-chan's been taking care of you as well."

I giggle, wink, and do a thumbs-up sign. "Yep! I've been staying with You-chan to make sure he doesn't get lonely."

Youhei reaches for the bento Nagisa had wrapped up, and I slap his hand away.

"You-chan, we just ate." I huff, and he pouts.

"B-But I'm still hungry!" Youhei cries, and I sigh and pat his head.

"Either way, no one gets lonely at this dorm in the first place." Okazaki points out to Nagisa.

"You're right. It's too lively if you ask me. I'll bring some tea out, so sit tight. My appreciation for protecting him." Misae says, motioning to the cat which Okazaki's holding.

"Protecting?" Nagisa repeats.

"That jerk tried to sell the cat off." Misae says, pointing at Youhei, and I sigh.

"I thought I could make a quick buck if I took it to a pet shop." Youhei mutters, and I flick his forehead.

"You don't go around selling people's pets!" I say, rolling my eyes.

"What's the name of this cat?" Nagisa asks Misae.

"Nanashi." Misae replies.

"Nanashi-chan, is it?" Nagisa smiles. "Can I call you Nana-chan?"

"No, not Nanashi-chan, Nanashi as in Nameless. I haven't named him yet. And that's a boy." Misae says.

"He's nameless?" Nagisa repeats. "But isn't he your cat?"

"I never wanted it, but starting some time ago, it began to stay around me, so I'm just taking care of it because of how things turned out.

"Then what's the big deal if I sell him?" Youhei asks. "Or stew him up?"

"You-chan!" I gasp, but before I can do anything, Misae comes up behind me.

"Stew what up?" Misae growls.

"Joking! Just joking!" Youhei says, putting his hands up defensively, and I sigh and flick his forehead again.

"Stupid You-chan..." I murmur, and smile. Youhei looks at me with a pathetic expression, and I roll my eyes and kiss his forehead.

"He's been attached to you for a while, hasn't he?" Misae asks Okazaki. The cat's draped over Okazaki's shoulder. "Why? Do your clothes smell like catnip?"

"No way." Okazaki replies. Suddenly there's a knock at the door.

"Come in." Misae calls, and...Tomoyo steps in?

"Excuse me." Tomoyo says.

"Gah!" Youhei gasps, and tenses up.

"I'll protect you, You-chan!" I say, and wink.

"What's everyone doing here?" Tomoyo asks.

"This is rare. Tomoyo, what are you doing here?" Okazaki asks her.

"It's not that rare. Sakagami-san comes to visit often." Misae says.

"I come to get advice as the Student Council President. This is a perfect opportunity since it involves both Okazaki and Sunohara." Tomoyo says, sitting down. "I want to eliminate all tardiness and absence from school."

"Eliminate all tardiness and absence from school?" Okazaki repeats.

"Yes. Misae-san was the first female Student Council President in our school's history to do it. And she accomplished the legendary Week of No Tardiness and Absence." Tomoyo explains.

"Ah, that brings back memories." Misae sighs.

"I want to know how you united the entire school. I want to make it happen too." Tomoyo says.

"It'd be really difficult, since there are two who are the biggest obstacles." Misae says, looking at Okazaki and Youhei.

"Who could she be talking about?" Youhei asks, looking away.

"Don't know." Okazaki replies.

"Tomoya-kun's up early and going to school on time with me now." Nagisa points out.

"And You-chan's been getting to school on time for a while now since we've been going together." I add.

"Hmm...well I guess that's not a problem anymore. How did you manage to do it, Misae-san?" Tomoyo asks.

"I really didn't do anything special. I simply said at the morning assembly to try not to be absent or late for a week. Then everyone went along with it for fun." Misae replies.

"That's all you did?" Tomoya asks.

"If I could say one thing, I guess not trying too hard helped." Misae says.

"I don't understand." Tomoya murmurs.

"If you get all worked up by yourself, you'll always get someone who'll rebel. Being too eager brings negative results." Misae explains.

"I see. That's a great point." Tomoya responds.

Suddenly, there's another knock at the door.

"I'm getting a lot of guests today." Misae sighs. "Come on in."

The door opens, revealing a member of the Rugby Club.

"Good evening." He says, then does a double-take when he sees all us kids surrounding her table.

"Ah, don't worry about them. Do you need something?" Misae asks the Rugby Club guy.

"Um, about what I asked the other day..." The guy trails off.

"Ah, that." Misae stands up and walks out of the room with the other guy.

Youhei crawls over to the door and presses his ear against it.

"Y-You-chan! What are you doing?!" I gasp.

"Shh, I can't hear what they're saying!" Youhei whispers. "He was asking for advice for where to go on his first date."

"Stop it already. You shouldn't be eavesdropping like that." Tomoyo chastises.

"She's right. Everyone needs privacy." Nagisa adds.

"Don't be such killjoys!" Youhei replies.

"Really, You-chan, you shouldn't-" Before I can finish my sentence, Misae kicks the door open, knocking Youhei over.

"What were you doing?" Misae asks.

"Sunohara-san was eavesdropping on the date plans." Nagisa replies, frowning.

"Shhh!" Youhei says, his eyes wide, and Misae grabs him from behind, bending his arms.

"Divine retribution!" She shouts, throwing him into a corner.

"For Pete's sake, You-chan..." I groan, shaking my head. "You're as helpless as ever." I sit next to him.

"A-Aren't you going to help me out of here?" Youhei whimpers. He's completely tangled and bent in the corner, upside down.

"Fine, fine, if you insist." I reply, pulling him out.

"Ow!" Youhei mutters as his head hits the floor. "You could've been more gentle."

"And I also could've left you there." I retort, crossing my arms and raising my eyebrows.

Youhei whimpers. "T-Thank you..." He murmurs, and I giggle and pull him up so he's standing.

"Oh yeah, you two." Misae says to us as we go back to sit around the table with everyone else. "Here, I think you might be interested in this." She hands me a slip of paper.

"Hikarizaka Shrine Autumn Festival, September 23rd, 10 PM..." I read aloud from the paper.

"Isn't that what you gave that Rugby Club guy?" Youhei asks.

"Yep. I thought you guys might be interested, since it can be a really fun place for a date." Misae smiles.

"A date?!" Youhei and I repeat in unison, instantly perking up at that word.

Misae laughs at our reaction, and Youhei and I turn to look at each other.

"W-Will you be free then, You-chan?" I ask shyly, blushing.

"Of course I will! I always have time for my darling Rin-chan~" Youhei replies, poking my nose, and I blush harder and look away.

"That's right! I have a yukata that I never get to wear...that'll be the perfect time to wear it!" I snap my fingers.

"You'll look nice in a yukata, Rin-chan~" Youhei smirks, and I huff and look away again.

Autumn Festival, here we come!

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The evening of the Autumn Festival, my mother insists on helping me with my yukata, and my hair. She tightens the bow in the back, then ties my hair up with chopsticks.

"There we go. You look nice, Rin." My mother says, smiling. I fidget uncomfortably and frown.

"Th-thanks..." I mutter. I know I'm not being that nice, but my mother hasn't really been active in my life for years now. It's strange for her to do this. "W-well, I'll be going now..."

With that, I walk out of the door.

"Goodbye, Rin!" My mother calls, waving, but before she can say anything else, I close the door. Youhei's waiting for me outside, wearing his white tuxedo.

"H-H-Hi, Y-You-chan..." I stammer, embarrassed to be seen in a yukata.

Youhei stares at me with wide eyes, blushing, and shakes his head. "You look beautiful..."

"E-Eh?!" I exclaim. "So do you! Er, I m-mean you l-look handsome..."

We both stare at each other, our faces bright red, until we both start to laugh.

Youhei takes my hand and smiles. "Let's go, shall we?"

"We shall!" I reply, giggling.

"Oh yeah, apparently Okazaki and Nagisa are going as well, so we might run into them." Youhei says as we reach Hikarizaka Shrine, where the Festival is being held.

"We should probably try to leave them alone so they can have their date together." I point out, and Youhei nods. "Where should we go first?"

"How about...Oh! I got it! I challenge you to a goldfish scooping!" Youhei says, pointing to where there's a tub of water with goldfish, and children and adults alike bend over, trying to catch a goldfish the thin paper nets.

I giggle and wink. "You're on." I reply, and we go over to pay. The person there hands us each five nets, and I take one, holding it in the water, waiting for a goldfish to swim by.

Suddenly, the net breaks, and I gasp. "Hey, how am I supposed to catch a goldfish?" I huff, and Youhei laughs.

"You can't hold it in there too long or the net will break. Or, it might break if the goldfish falls through it." Youhei says. "See, I caught one-dang it!" The goldfish falls through, splashing in the water, and I laugh.

"Hey you're not doing any better!" Youhei huffs, motioning to my broken net. I sigh and grab my second one, holding it in the water and reaching towards a goldfish.

"Got one!" I smirk, pulling it slowly out of the water. _Splash!_ It falls down, back into the water. "...Crap."

"Haha!" Youhei laughs, getting another goldfish on his net. Which, falls through seconds after.

"Is this even possible?!" I gasp, and right as I say that, a small girl, several years younger than me pulls a goldfish out of the water.

"Mama! Mama! I caught one!" She says, and the person running this booth puts it in a bag.

Seeing this, I grit my teeth, grabbing my third net. Quickly but carefully, I scoop up a goldfish lifting it out of the water. It doesn't break through!

"Hey, sir, I caught one! Haha, look You-chan I-" And the goldfish falls into the tub again. Youhei sticks his tongue out at me and I huff and flick his forehead, and grab my fourth net.

Youhei starts to get really upset, and asks the man for five more nets.

"You-chan, we should just go to a different-" I say, but he cuts me off.

"No! I'm going to get a goldfish!" Youhei shouts, and I giggle to myself. I slide the net into the water, slowly, and carefully scoop up a goldfish. Not getting my hopes up, I hold it out. This time, it really doesn't break! The man hands me a bag, and puts the goldfish in it.

"You-chaaaan~" I giggle, waving the bag in his face.

"Hold on a minute Rin, I almost got on-Whaaaat?!" Youhei gasps. "Y-you got one?!"

I smile and hand it to him. "Here."

"R-Really?" Youhei exclaims, and I roll my eyes.

"You really are such a kid. Of course." I say.

Youhei throws his arms around me. "Rin-chaaaan! You're amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just treat me to taiyaki or something, okay?" I say, smirking.

"Yes ma'am!" Youhei says, saluting and immediately drags me to a taiyaki booth.

"H-Hey I didn't mean right away!" I say.

Youhei ignores me and hands me one, and holds one for himself.

I take a cautious bite, and my eyes widen. "This is delicious!" I gasp, and Youhei laughs and ruffles my hair.

"Right?" He says, eating his. "What next?"

"Hmm..." I rub my chin. "How about...this!" I grab a mask from the stand behind us.

"Eek!" Youhei shouts, and I burst out laughing.

"Did that actually scare you?!" I say, pulling the mask off.

"O-Of course not! How stupid!" Youhei says, crossing his arms. I roll my eyes and pat his head.

"There, there, my scaredy-cat Toilet Seat You-chan." I tease, and Youhei pouts.

"Y-You're mean, Rin-chan..." He whimpers and I laugh.

"Seriously though, this mask is cool." I say, putting it back on. We both experiment with different masks, putting them on and laughing, until the person running the booth yells at us to either buy one or leave.

Next, we go to a cork-gun stand, which Youhei insists on.

"Which one do you want?" Youhei asks, motioning to the various stuffed animals lined up.

"Um, I already have the cat you gave me, I really don't need anymo-"

Youhei ignores me. "Alright, I'll try to get that panda."

I roll my eyes and do a face-palm as he pays the man at the stand, and grabs the cork gun.

_Bam!_ Youhei misses, hitting the hole-riddled wall of the stand.

"Th-That was just warm up." Youhei says, and I laugh. _Bam!_ Once again, he hits the wall.

"You only get one more try, You-chan..." I murmur, and at that moment a familiar-looking girl suddenly appears.

"Fuko Ibuki is here! Fuko heard you call!" The girl says, smiling. Fuko...we've seen her before...why does she seem so familiar, though?

"Um, nobody called you..." Youhei trails off.

"Silence weird-hair color person! Fuko shall win the gift you desire!" Before Youhei can do anything, Fuko grabs the gun out of his hands.

"H-Hey, what are you doing? How is my hair color weird?!" Youhei demands, but Fuko ignores him, closing one eye and aiming for the panda.

"Here Fuko goes!" Fuko says. _Bam!_ This time, the shot actually makes it! However, it ends up hitting a star-shaped plushie instead. "Perfect!" Fuko smiles, then turns back to look at us. "It seems that Fuko was unable to get the gift you desired. But Fuko got the gift she desired! Until next time!"

With that, Fuko dashes off into the crowd.

"What was that all about?" I ask, watching her disappear into the mass of people.

"I have no clue...Hey! She wasted my last shot!" Youhei grumps, and before he can pay for another round, I grab his free hand.

"Come on, You-chan! Let's go get some cotton candy!" I say, and I drag Youhei to the cotton candy stand.

"This is huuuuge!" I say, staring at the huge stick of cotton candy. Youhei insisted that we share one, and I didn't bother to argue, since I kind of wanted to do the same.

Youhei takes a bite of the cotton candy, and ends up getting some on his chin and above his lips.

I burst out laughing. "You've got a mustache and a beard!" I say, and I wipe it off.

Youhei blushes, and I laugh and kiss his chin. "Come on, cutie." I say. Next, we go to a stand where there's jewelry laid out.

"Wooow...this is so pretty!" I say, holding up a crescent moon necklace. Youhei smiles.

"How much is it?" Youhei asks.

"Y-You don't have to get it for me!" I blush, setting it down. Youhei picks it up.

"1000 yen...I can do that." Youhei replies, and ignorning my arguing, he pays for it. "Here..." He murmurs, standing behind me, and clasps it behind my neck.

"Perfect." He smiles, turning to look at me from the front.

"G-Geez, You-chan...you're too much." I blush, and kiss his cheek. "Thank you. Oh yeah! Let's get some sparklers!"

We walk to a booth that sells fireworks, and that sort of thing, and buy some sparklers.

"Ready...go!" I giggle, rubbing it on the box, and then it ignites. We mess around with the sparklers for a little bit, running around with them like little kids, when they go out.

After we play a couple of more games, and eat a little more food at the Festival, Youhei takes me home. I'm stuffed, and exhausted, so I lean on Youhei, who's still carrying the goldfish from before.

"Thank you so much for today, You-chan..." I murmur, looking up at the sky. "It really is gorgeous in this town, isn't it?"

"Anytime, anytime. And huh? I...I guess..." Youhei replies. I can tell it took him off guard, and I giggle.

"I just think it is. Oh yeah, there's something I want to talk to you about tomorrow..." I blush.

"Tomorrow? Can't you just tell me nooooow?" Youhei whines.

"Nope. Tomorrow." I reply, and laugh as Youhei pouts. We reach my house, and I notice that the light is on in the window.

"Good night, You-chan. Make sure to be ready tomorrow morning!" I huff. "And be careful with that goldfish!"

Youhei rolls his eyes. "Got it, got it! Oh, I think I'm going to call my goldfish Rin, since it reminds me of you."

"How does it remind you of me?!" I exclaim.

"Well, it's really cute, but it ignores me a lot." Youhei replies, and I blush.

"I-I don't ignore you..." I huff. "Most of the time."

"See? You said 'most of the time'! So that means there's time when you do ignore me!" Youhei wails.

"That's when you're being an idiot." I reply.

"Gasp! Rin-chan, your cold words pierce through my heart!" Youhei says dramatically, and I roll my eyes.

"You're so dramatic, You-chan." I laugh, then look at him shyly. Youhei looks back at me, and he closes his eyes and leans in slowly...

"Hehehe..." I giggle, slowly taking the goldfish bag from Youhei's hand, then putting it in front of his lips.

"Eek!" Youhei gasps, his eyes widening. "R-Rin-chan!" He cries.

I sigh and give him a quick kiss. "Night, You-chan!" I giggle, handing him the goldfish, and running inside.

As I had suspected, my parents are arguing in their room. Sighing, I turn the light off, and go into my room, curling my knees to my chest, fiddling with the necklace Youhei had bought for me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Thank you so very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story so far~**

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	22. Chapter 22

"Why is there a gas stove in the resource room?" Okazaki asks.

Okazaki, Nagisa, Youhei and I are in the resource room with Misae, who's cooking over a gas stove. I take a sip of my coffee, and lean back in my chair.

"All sorts of things that are no longer used, even those that are not books, are stored here." Yukine explains.

I lean my head on Youhei's shoulder. "Are you sure we aren't being a bother by coming in here all the time?" I ask Yukine.

"Not at all. You all are such lively company." Yukine replies.

"Yes. It's so much fun every day!" Nagisa agrees.

"How about you? Doesn't it get boring for you to be here alone every day?" Okazaki asks.

"Not at all, since I frequently have visitors." Yukine smiles.

"Guests..." Okazaki repeats.

"So what brings you here today?" Yukine asks, scooping some of the food she was cooking on to a plate.

"I guess we're here to just mess around." Okazaki replies, and at that moments there's a banging sound as someone comes in the window.

"Yu-Yuki-nee..." A scary-looking man leans into the room, halfway in.

Youhei immediately jumps out of his chair and tenses up. I roll my eyes and stand up in front of him.

"Come on, my scaredy-cat-chan. I'll protect you." I tease.

"Sudou-san!" Yukine gasps, running over to the man in the window. She carefully pulls him completely into the room, then sets him against a bookcase.

"Are you all right, Sudou-san?" Yukine asks the man.

"That was stupid of me..." The man, Sudou, replies. "Because of me, our gang totally lost the fight. I can't go back to them. I'm going off on a journey now. I'll be a lone wolf starting today. So I wanted to say goodbye to you before I go. Laugh at me for being such a sissy."

"Hey, this is the school's resource room, right?" Youhei asks, and I roll my eyes.

"I honestly don't know what kinds of things go on in here." I reply.

"Should I go get the school nurse?" Nagisa fusses.

"No, I think it's best to let Yukine handle it." Okazaki replies.

"You mustn't say something like that! If you leave, I think everyone will miss you. I would." Yukine tells Sudou.

"Yuki-nee..." Sudou murmurs.

"I'll teach you a charm. You do this." Yukine says, putting Sudou's hands on his face. "And this. Then say 'I'm always looking at you from the side' three times. If you do, you'll be able to make up with your friends."

"I'm always looking at you from the side. I'm always looking at you from the side. I'm always looking at you from the side." Sudou does as Yukine instructs. "I feel like I see a ray of light."

"What a fast recovery." Okazaki mutters.

"I should take note of that charm." Nagisa says.

"Is he really okay?" I ask with wide eyes.

"All you have to do now is properly apologize to them. Running away won't solve anything." Yukine says.

"You're right. I totally lost sight of myself." Sudou replies. Yukine stands up and fixes Sudou a plate of food, then haves him sit down at the table.

"I always say you shouldn't fight." Yukine sighs.

"Sorry. But there are times when men have to fight." Sudou responds. Suddenly, I think of the time just a little while ago when Youhei and Okazaki got into that horrible fight. I shudder at the memory.

"Hey, could you explain what's going on?" Okazaki asks.

"I'm curious too." I add.

"Well..." Yukine starts.

"Yuki-nee's like the big sister of our gang." Sudou explains.

"Big sister?" Okazaki, Nagisa, Youhei, and I all repeat in unison.

"We're all under the care of Yuki-nee. Like taking care of us after fights. Not just us-" At that moment, there's a banging sound, and yet another gang member jumps into the room from the window. Yukine should probably keep the windows locked or something.

"I knew I'd find you here, Sudou!" The new gang member says.

"You followed me all the way here?!" Sudou gasps, standing up.

"This is the only place you would hide." The other man replies. "Prepare yourself!"

"Please wait!" Yukine exclaims. Youhei, Nagisa, Okazaki and I have all stood up as well. Well, Youhei's more 'cowering in the corner' instead of standing.

"Yukine-san. I don't have any intention of bothering you. You've taken care of our guys many times too." The man says.

"Sorry, Yukine-nee. If it's come to this, no one can stop us. Step outside! We'll bother Yuki-nee if we fight here!" Sudou says.

I step towards the two men. "W-Wait! Fighting can't be right! There has to be something else you can do!"

"This is what we have to do. Sorry, kiddo." And with that, the other guy jumps out of the window.

Sudou leans out the window. "Yuki-nee, if another idiot like me wanders in, please take care of that guy. See ya!" He jumps out following the other guy.

"Sudou-san!" Yukine cries out. I run to her side and look out the window. They've both already vanishes.

"Is there any way we can stop them?" I ask Yukine.

"I don't think we can find them..." Yukine replies sadly.

I walk back over to Youhei, who's still cowering. "Are you okay, You-chan?" I ask.

"I'm fine. What about you? That was brave, you know." Youhei says, looking at me.

"I-I'm fine! I-it wasn't really. I just don't want to see anyone getting hurt." I sigh. "I think that fight you and Okazaki-kun had scarred me or something. I don't ever wanna see anyone get hurt..." I smile half-way and the bell rings. "Let's get going, You-chan."

Youhei stares at me with a bit of a sad expression, then shakes his head and takes my hand, and we walk out of school with Nagisa, Okazaki and Yukine.

"My brother is the leader of the gang Sudou-san is in." Yukine explains.

"Oh yeah, you did say how you have a scary brother." Okazaki says.

"Currently in this city, two gangs are fighting over territory. My brother's group and the group the person who came later belongs to. They're separated by a river. After my brother became the leader they couldn't cross the border easily, but...little scuffles happen every day." Yukine continues.

"Your brother is that scary of a person?" Nagisa asks.

"Apparently he's never lost a single fight." Yukine replies. "He tries to keep his identity and home hidden to avoid getting attacked from behind."

"The invisible leader! So cool!" Youhei says, smiling like a fangirl, or in this case, fanboy.

"So you idolize those kinds of people, You-chan?" I ask, smiling as well.

"Of course! They're amazing!" Youhei replies, and I laugh.

"What's the name of your brother?" Nagisa asks.

"It's Kazuto." Yukine responds. Kazuto Miyazawa, huh...Why do I feel like I've heard that name before? Kazuto Miyazawa...

"Don't move!" Suddenly there's arms pulling Yukine back.

"Miyazawa?" Okazaki gasps, and my eyes widen.

"You're Yukine Miyazawa, right? Give me back my sister!" A boy shouts, holding on to Yukine.

"What is this? Are you with the guy from before?" Okazaki asks, and I notice the boy is trembling. Peering down, I notice, the boy is standing on his tip-toes to reach Yukine's height. He's a little kid.

"Please calm down, Okazaki-san." Yukine smiles. She picks the kid up from behind and puts him on her back. "There we go."

"What are you doing? Let me go!" The kid shouts, pounding Yukine's back. He's feisty, all right. "Let me go!"

Yukine walks over to a bench and sets the kid down. "Let's talk properly. Do I know your sister?"

"D-Don't play dumb with me! I know you're the boss of the gang!" The kid says, and Youhei walks over and puts his hand on this kids head.

"Stop acting tough, kid." Youhei smirks, and I roll my eyes. The kid shoots up.

"What are you? I get it. You must be Kazuto Miyazawa." The kid says.

"Eh?"

"I heard that Kazuto Miyazawa has blonde hair. You're the one that rules this side of the city, right?" The kid continues.

"No, he's-" I'm cut off by Youhei.

"That's right. I am Kazuto Miyazawa." Youhei replies, still smirking.

"But-" Yukine starts.

"You-chan, what are you-" Once again, Youhei cuts me off.

"It's fine. Leave it to me, sister. I'll play with you, then. Me, the invisible leader." Youhei says. The kid grits his teeth and balls his fists, and I do a facepalm.

"Um, how about we go somewhere we can sit and talk?" Yukine suggests.

We end up going to Youhei's place.

"Why do we have to come to my place?" Youhei/Kazuto mutters as we sit around his table.

"Leaders don't care about details." Okazaki replies, and I snort.

"Yu-kun, right?" Yukine asks the boy. "Please let me introduce you to everyone first. I'm Yukine Miyazawa. Hello."

"H-Hello." Yu replies, bowing his head.

"They are Tomoya Okazaki-san, Nagisa Furukawa-san, and Rin Kimura-san." Yukine introduces.

"Hello." Okazaki, Nagisa and I respond in unison.

"You have good manners, Yu-kun." Yukine smiles.

Yu blushes. "D-Don't try to flatter me!"

"I was hoping for something more savage." Youhei mutters, and I hit his head.

"If I'm not mistaken, your sister went missing?" Yukine asks.

"She ran away from our house and joined your gang. I asked my friend's brother, and he said that the boss of the group is the Miyazawa kid, and the younger sister of the two is a student at Hikarizaka High School.

"So you've come to claim your your sister back, eh?" Okazaki asks.

"You're very brave, Yu-kun." Nagisa smiles.

"I agree." I add.

"Kazuto Miyazawa is the invisible boss, and I'm told that only those in his group know his face. That's why I came to talk to the sister." Yu explains.

"How old is your sister?" Youhei asks.

"I think she's twenty-one." Yu replies, and my eyes widen. "We got a call from her the other day saying she wouldn't be back for a while. That she'll lease an apartment and live alone for a while."

"Is that something to worry about?" Okazaki asks.

"Look. You're just a sis-con." Youhei says, pointing at Yu.

"You-chan!" I gasp, and hit him on the head again. Then Yu turns to look at me. "Er, Kazu-chan!"

Yu blinks and looks back at Youhei. "Sis-con?" He repeats.

"When a twenty-year old leaves home, it's called going independent. There's no need for a kid to worry." Youhei points out.

"But she's dating a guy in the gang!" Yu shouts.

"Um, I don't know what exactly you were told, but my friends aren't bad people. They are a little short-tempered and quick to fight, but they're all very manly." Yukine explains.

"How about us? Do we look like that bad of people?" Okazaki asks.

"You do. But she looks like a nice person. So does she." Yu says, looking at Nagisa and I.

"Thank you very much." Nagisa says, and I smile.

"What are you talking about? Rin-chan's not nice at a-" I cover Youhei's mouth with my hand, and he licks it.

"Eep! You, er, Kazu-chan!" I huff, and Yu tilts his head.

"Are you Kazuto Miyazawa's girlfriend?" Yu asks.

"U-Um, yes, I am." I reply, raising my eyebrow at Youhei, who shrugs.

"Anyway, Yu. You're a seed from a flower. You'll be blown away by the wind and start your journey. You're on your way to meet new people in new places." Youhei says, and my eyes widen. Is he actually saying something with meaning?

"Meet new people in new places?" Yu repeats.

"You can't be spoiled by your sister anymore. Even if you're apart, you're still connected by a bond. That's what family is!" Youhei says.

"Yo-Kazu-chan, are you feeling alright? You've never said anything so sensible!" I say, my eyes still wide, and Youhei sticks his tongue out at me. "How long did it take you to come up with that?" I smirk.

"Um...the whole time we were with the kid..." Youhei mutters, and I giggle.

"But, I'm sure you'd be worried not to know where your sister is, so I'll ask my friends. Is that all right?" Yukine asks.

"Okay." Yu responds. He scoots back a little and bows. "Please look for my sister. Thank you for your help."

"Yes, I'll do my best." Yukine responds.

"M-Me too!" I blurt out. "I want to help too."

Yu nods. "Thank you!"

"Yukine-chan, is that okay? Can I help out?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Of course. Thank you for your help." Yukine replies, smiling.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"How did this happen?" Okazaki asks Youhei as we walk down the hallway, along with Yu from before. I sigh and roll my eyes as Youhei smirks.

"He wants to follow me and learn about being a man. He's got real guts to skip school for it." Youhei explains, and I facepalm. I was there when Yu had showed up at school, insisting Youhei take him in. It didn't take much encouraging. In fact, Youhei jumped at the idea.

"Thank you for taking me in!" Yu says.

"If you watch me, you'll learn how a man should be. Don't fall behind!" Youhei says.

I cough. "Yeah, more like learn to be an idio-" Youhei covers my mouth with his hand.

"Yes!" Yu responds to Youhei. After a little hesitation, I smirk and lick Youhei's hand and he jumps.

"Payback~" I giggle. But Youhei just wiggles his eyebrows.

"You're eager today, huh, Rin-chan~?" Youhei asks, smirking, and I blush.

"Y-Kazu-chan! You idiot!" I huff, stomping ahead. "Come on!"

We head to the library, where Youhei reads a manga, and Yu reads a book on dinosaurs. I sit down, drumming my fingers on the table, when the bell rings. Youhei doesn't make a move to get up. I stand up, and shake his shoulders.

"Come on, Kazu-chan. We gotta go." I say.

"I have to teach Yu the rules of being a man." Youhei groans and I sigh and flick his forehead.

"We are going to class. Or-" I start.

"Or what?" Youhei asks.

"Or...um...I won't kiss you for a week!" I huff, crossing my arms.

"That's not faaair!" Youhei wails. "Fiiine, we'll go."

Yu starts to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Youhei asks.

"Nothing, I just didn't think the leader of a huge gang was like with with his girlfriend. It's funny." Yu replies, and Youhei and I blush.

"W-We need to get going!" I huff, and take Youhei's hand, about to walk out of the library with Okazaki and Yu when suddenly another teacher opens the door and spotting us.

"What are you doing in here? Class has started." The teacher says.

"We were, um, we were..." Youhei stammers.

"I was looking for something in the library, and these two were heading to class when I asked them if they could help me find it. It's my fault they were late for class. Please excuse them." I say, bowing.

The teacher raises her eyebrows. "Well, I'll let you go off with a warning. Make sure to be on time next time, okay?"

I nod. "Yes, ma'am."

As we walk to our classroom, Youhei bumps into me, and I stumble.

"Thanks for that." Youhei says, and I roll my eyes.

"I'm keeping you out of trouble. That's all." I reply, and Youhei rolls his eyes. Yu was hiding behind Okazaki, so he managed to not get spotted.

After class ends, we head to Yukine's room again.

"We got a hold of her. We know where your sister is." Misae says to Yu.

So we all end up walking Yu over to where his sister is together.

"Why do I have to come? I wouldn't want to get dragged into another fight." Youhei mutters.

"When that happens, you'll take care of things, right Kazuto Bro?" Okazaki asks, and I snort.

"When bad guys show up, please beat them up for us please, Kazuto-san." Yu says, turning to Youhei.

"I wouldn't want you to rely on me so much." Youhei says, laughing nervously.

I raise my eyebrows. "Aww, Kazu-chan, I love it when you beat up people! It's so cool!" I say, and he blushes.

"Really? Well I guess that's true! After all, I, Kazuto Miyazawa, am pretty awesome!" Youhei says, and I roll my eyes.

Once we reach the place where we were told Yu's sister would be, Youhei starts to shake.

"It's my first time coming to a place like this." Nagisa says as we wait outside the door.

"Mine too." I say. It's kind of nerve-wracking.

"Don't worry, they're all friendly people." Yukine replies.

"Come to think of it, coming here will expose I'm not Yukine's brother, won't it?" Youhei whimpers, his voice shaking, and I sigh and pat him on the head.

"I won't let anything happen to you, You-chan." I say, and smile. "For sure this time."

Youhei stares at me, then looks at the staircase that leads away from this place, then back at me. "F-Fine...but I could handle myself anyway, you know."

"Hello!" Yukine says, stepping into the place.

"Yuki-nee!" The men inside gasp as they see Yukine step in. They crowd around her. "Long time no see, Yuki-nee."

"We've been waiting for you, Yuki-nee!"

"I'm glad to see that you're all well." Yukine smiles. Youhei hides behind me, and I sigh and stand a little straighter, trying to keep him out of view.

"Honestly, You-chan..." I mutter.

"Onee-chan!" Yu suddenly gasps.

"Yu!" A tall woman with red hair dashes from the crows and hugs Yu.

"I was worried about you, Onee-chan!" Yu says.

"I'm sorry, but I'm doing fine!" His sister replies.

"He's your little brother? He's so cute!" Another woman from the crowd comments, and I smile. I'm glad Yu can be with his sister.

"He's got a good, strong face." One man says.

"How about it? Want a drink to go with the reunion?" Another man asks.

"No alcohol." Yukine chastises.

"I was just kidding." The man replies, scratching the back of his head.

"Looks like Sudou-san was able to make up with everyone else." Nagisa says.

"Yep. I'm glad." I smile.

"Miyazawa's really popular, isn't she?" Okazaki murmurs.

"I hope I can be like her some day..." I say softly.

"What?" Nagisa and Okazaki turn to look at me, and I blush.

"I mean, I just want to be able to help people like she does." I reply.

"Yuki-nee treats anyone who's wounded, regardless of being a friend or foe." A man says, suddenly appearing beside us. "There are many who have been cared for by her after a fight.

"Amazing..." I murmur.

"You're the guy from that day." Okazaki says.

"Yeah. Sorry I couldn't give much of an introduction that day." The man says.

"No, same here." Nagisa replies.

"You got another guy there?" The man asks, noticing Youhei, who's still cowering behind me. I tense up, and I feel him tense as well.

"I'm not worthy of introducing myself." Youhei says, and I roll my eyes. The guy narrows his eyes and walks over to where Youhei's hiding. Youhei scoots around and jumps to the front of me. The guy follows him, and they walk around in a circle, until Yu calls out, "What are you doing, Kazuto-san?"

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

All the guys in the crowd perk up at the name and stare at Youhei, and my eyes widen. This isn't good. The guy who had found Youhei picks him up by his collar.

"You're still bothering Yuki-nee?!" He exclaims.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm her friend! I'm sorry!" Youhei gasps.

"H-Hey, let You-chan go! W-We were just trying to help Yukine-chan, that's all!" I say, and the man stares at me warily, then drops Youhei, and Youhei falls on his knees.

"You-chan!" I gasp and flick his forehead. He groans and rubs his head, then goes to sit down to where Yu is.

Youhei explains everything to Yu.

"What, you were lying to me?" Yu exclaims.

"I'm sorry, I'm in the theater club, so I wanted to practice my acting." Youhei says. He's sweating like crazy.

"To pretend to be Kazuto-san of all people. You piece of shit." A man from the gang mutters.

"If you weren't Yuki-nee's friend, you'd be dead by now!" Another man says.

"Don't call You-chan that!" I say, but they ignore me. I can't do anything about it...

"Calm down. He did take care of my brother, so could you let him off the hook?" Yu's older sister says.

I let out a sigh of relief and ruffle Youhei's hair. "You-chan can be a bit of an idiot at times, but forgive him for it, alright?" I ask.

The gang members all look at each other warily and then nod, and I go over to walk over to where Nagisa, Okazaki and Yukine are.

"I heard from Yu-kun yesterday. His family is having a problem between parent and child. The other day, his sister left home as a result of a fight with their mother." Yukine explains. My eyes widen as she says this. A problem between parents and child, huh...I guess I can relate to his older sister a little. If I could run away from home...would I? "Many of those who are here aren't on good terms with their parents. They don't have a place for them at home, so they come to a place like this."

A place where people go...who don't have a place at home. Should I join...? There are a few other females in the gang...But no. I wouldn't be able to survive in a rough place like this. I don't belong here, anyway. I belong with Youhei, and the others. I need to stay by his side, always.

"So to them, this is like their home." Nagisa comments.

"It was the same with my brother. He didn't get along with my parents very well." Yukine murmurs. I leave the conversation and run back over to where the gang is. Sudou's lifting Youhei above his head.

"E-Eep! You-chan!" I gasp.

"This kid kept saying there's no way we can lift him." Sudou says, setting him back down, and I sigh.

"You-chan, why are you such an idiot?" I huff, but smile as I say it.

"Rin-chan, why are you so horrible to me?" Youhei retorts, and I roll my eyes and kiss his forehead.

"Hey, do you, Yukine-nee, and the other girl want to try out the karaoke machine?" Sudou asks, and I blink.

"Karaoke machine?" I repeat.

"Yeah. We got one the other day but don't have much use for it." Sudou replies, and I blush, remembering my karaoke date before with Youhei. That was so embarassing...I don't think I can do it again.

"That sounds amazing! Let's do it, Rin-chan!" Youhei says, his eyes sparkling.

"Hey! I only said the other three could do it." Sudou says, and Youhei's face falls.

"I-I really don't th-think I should..." I stammer, waving my hands.

"Aw, come on! I don't want to let that machine go to waste. Besides..." Sudou points to Youhei. "I'm sure lover boy here would love to hear you sing."

"Yeah! You sounded amazing when we sang together before!" Youhei says, and I blush bright red.

"F-Fine..." I murmur.

After a couple more minutes, Yukine, Nagisa and I are standing with microphones in our hands as the song plays. Nearing the end of the song, Youhei runs up to the stage and bursts out the last line.

"Phew! That was awesome, am I right guys?" Youhei smirks, and my eyes widen as a bunch of gang members come over to us.

"Did you just interrupt Yuki-nee's song?" One says, glaring at Youhei, and he immediately cowers back.

"I-I'm sorry!" Youhei says, and one of the guys steps towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder, and he jumps.

"You're a pretty interesting guy." He says.

"A-Am I?" Youhei says, his voice shaking.

"That's true. You-chan's veeery interesting." I say, rolling my eyes.

After a couple more hours, we leave, the sky already dark and filled with stars.

"Oh yeah, Rin-chan, that reminds me, didn't you say yesterday there was something you wanted to tell me?" Youhei asks.

I blush. "R-Right, that...I was wonderi-"

Suddenly there are footsteps, and three men approach us.

"You're Kazuto Miyazawa right?!" One of them shouts, and it takes me a moment to figure out what was going on. These are probably members from a gang...they must have heard about Youhei!

"What? Me?!" Youhei gasps. My eyes widen and I push myself in front of Youhei.

"That isn't-" They cut me off.

"We finally meet! I didn't know you were out of the hospital! We'll settle this today once and for all!" Another member says.

"You're making a mistake!" Youhei wails.

"Don't step near You-chan! Please! You don't know what you're talking about!" I say.

"We have no business with you! We only want Kazuto." The man says, walking towards me.

"Please wait! He's-" Yukine steps in front of me.

"Yukine-san, sorry! But you can't stop us! Don't hurt Yukine-san and the other two girls. Get them!" They say, and charge towards us.

"Crap...we have to run!" I shout, and shove Youhei in front of me. "Go!" Without another word, Youhei dashes away, along with Okazaki, Yukine, and Nagisa. I stay behind. Which really, really isn't a good idea.

I back up slowly into the sewer. "U-Um, please..." Dang it! So much for my bravery..."Y-You're mistaken, You-chan isn't-"

Suddenly there's a blur of someone running by me, and before I know it, the three men are kicked out of the sewer.

"Eh?!" I gasp and whirl around. I can make out a shape in the darkness. It's...Tomoyo?! "Tomoyo-san? What are you doing here?! Y-You saved us!"

Nagisa, Youhei, Okazaki and Yukine come running back towards us.

"Tomoyo-san!" Nagisa gasps. "Thank you for saving us!"

"What are you doing in a place like this?" Okazaki asks.

"I heard many fights have happened here recently. I was on patrol since I don't want students from our school to get involved. You guys, too. Why are you involved with people like them?" Tomoyo asks.

"It's a long story..." Nagisa trails off.

"I think they totally have the wrong idea..." Youhei mutters.

"Look what mess you get yourself into to!" I shout at Youhei. "All because you had to lie!"

"Rin-chan?" Youhei asks, his wide eyes.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry...I'm just upset. People are going to be after you now, because they think you're Kazuto...they're gangs, You-chan! They beat up people...and now they're after you." Sighing, I lean against him. "You find new ways every day to make me worry about you, idiot."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Thank you for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter~**

**Please leave a review telling me your thoughts and opinions! I'd appreciate it so very much!**

**~Stay tuned!~**


	23. Chapter 23

Both Yukine and I are yawning this morning.

"Not getting enough sleep?" Okazaki asks us.

"Pardon me. I wasn't able to sleep very well last night." Yukine replies.

"Neither was I...I was freaking about You-chan." I huff, and flick his forehead.

"Geez, Rin-chan, I already told you I'll be fine. But..." Youhei smirks and wiggles his eyebrows. "If you're worried, you could always come to stay with me again~"

"'Again'"? Okazaki repeats, and I turn bright red.

"Y-You-chaaan! Hush!" I wail, hitting the top of his head.

"Ow! What? I didn't say spend the night again-" Youhei smirks.

"Spend the night again?!" Nagisa repeats with wide eyes.

"Kyaaa!" I bang my head on the table.

"I never knew you two would do something like that." Okazaki raises his eyebrows.

"No! It isn't in the way you're thinking! You-chan was lonely and-" I start.

"Or maybe it's exactly what you're thinking!" Youhei says, and I slap my hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet, You-chan!" I huff, and he licks my hand. "E-Eep!"

"Shouldn't you have learned your lesson by now?" Youhei sighs, and pokes my cheek.

Okazaki laughs at the two of us, and soon Yukine and Nagisa join in, and soon we're all laughing.

"Is there a charm that helps sleeping?" Nagisa asks once we calm down.

"There is, but..." Yukine grabs the book of charms, pulls it out, and flips open to a page, showing Nagisa.

"Charm for getting a good sleep." Nagisa reads. "Have someone give you a lap pillow. With this, a peaceful slumber is...all yours."

"This isn't a charm..." Okazaki mutters. I blush thinking of You-chan as a lap pillow.

"It sounds nice, right, Rin-chan~?" Youhei ask, winking at me, and I turn away, blushing more.

"But it does sound like you could get a good sleep." Nagisa points out.

"I had my brother do it for me often when I was little, but now that I'm older..." Yukine trails off.

"I have an idea! How about having Tomoya-kun give you the lap pillow in place of your brother?" Nagisa suggests. I almost spit out the coffee I'm drinking. Aren't they _dating_?! Why would she want someone else to use him as a lap pillow?

Maybe it's just me, but the thought of someone using Youhei as a lap pillow really sets me on edge...It makes me really jealous.

"Eh?!" Okazaki gasps.

"I shouldn't. I would feel bad for you." Yukine says, and I stare at Nagisa. She really isn't getting jealous at all?

"I-I want to try it too!" I blurt out. "W-With Y-You-chan..." I blush.

Youhei raises his eyebrows, and pats his lap. "Well, come on then! I'm waiting~"

"D-Dang it! You don't have to be so..._weird_ about it!" I huff, then pull my chair over to Youhei. "U-Um..." I stare up at Youhei, who winks, and I blush harder and look around. Okazaki, Nagisa, and Yukine are also watching me.

"R-Right..." I lay my head down slowly in Youhei's lap, and I can feel him stiffen a little, and then he relaxes. "I-It's warm...It feels nice...Ahh..." I can feel Youhei petting my hair. "Hey, You-chan...is it okay...if I close my eyes, just for a bit?"

"Y-Yes!" Youhei replies, and I smile and close them, a warm feeling overcoming me. Suddenly, I'm very, very sleepy.

"You-chan..." I murmur.

"Hmm?" He asks, still stroking my hair.

"I...love you..." I say, sleep overcoming me.

"I-I love you too, Rin-chan!" Is the last thing I hear before I fall asleep in Youhei's lap.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

I awaken filled with warmth, a hand resting on my head, a soft snoring around me. Rubbing my eyes, I sit up, when I remember where I was.

Blushing, I glance over at Youhei and see him asleep, the snoring coming from him, and I giggle. He looks so much more innocent when he's sleeping. I smile to myself and wipe a little drool from the corner of his mouth, and notice Yukine is watching us.

"Good morning." Yukine smiles.

"G-Good morning...how long was I asleep?" I ask.

"About an hour or so. Okazaki-san and Furukawa-san went back to class." Yukine replies, and my eyes widen. We missed some of our classes! Youhei, why didn't he wake me up when I started to fall asleep?

...But I can't find it in myself to get mad. In fact, I'm a little happy I got to be with Youhei like this. At that moment, Youhei's awake too, blinking his eyes and smiling when he sees me.

I flick his forehead. "Slept well?"

"Yep. I slept amazing." Youhei replies, smirking.

"I can't believe you..." Sighing, I stand up and pull Youhei up. "We need to get back to class."

Youhei yawns. "Can't we just spend the rest of school sleeping here? I'm tiiired..."

"No, we can't. Come on." I huff, but I'm smiling as I say this.

After classes, we come back to Yukine's room. As we settle around the table, the window slams open.

"Yuki-nee!" It's Sudou again.

"Sudou-san!" Yukine gasps, and Youhei jumps out of his chair. I shoot up, too.

"There's a problem! Apparently the entire gang we're fighting with think that that blonde kid is your brother!" Sudou says, and my eyes widen.

"They all think Sunohara-san is my brother?" Yukine repeats.

"Yeah. They think Kazuto-san got out of the hospital. They're all scared. They're afraid they have no chance of winning now that Kazuto Miyazawa's back on the streets. That's why they've panicked and have snuck over to our side. This was never supposed to happen." Sudou explains.

"No way..." I mutter.

"But that's all a misunderstanding!" Nagisa shouts.

"Yeah! It was Tomoyo who beat them up yesterday and-" Okazaki starts, when as if summoned by name, Tomoyo steps into the room.

"Miyazawa. Regarding what happened yesterday..." Tomoyo starts.

"Crap! I'll see you later, Yuki-nee!" Sudou says, fleeing out of the window.

"Sudou-san!" Yukine cries.

Tomoyo raises her eyebrows. "Looks like I came at the perfect time." She's glancing at Yu, who jumps behind Okazaki.

I sigh and walk towards Tomoyo. "We should probably talk somewhere else, rather than at school." I suggest, and she nods.

"It's raining outside..." I say, looking out the window, then giggle.

"R-Rin, what's with that laugh?" Youhei asks, staring at me.

"Hehehe...You-chan, do you mind getting wet?" I ask.

Youhei stares at me with wide eyes, and without waiting for a response, I drag him out into the rain.

"What are we doing out in the rain?" Youhei asks.

I blush, suddely feeling shy. "It's like, one of those romantic things to like, mess around and dance in the rain right? And to, um, k-kiss in the rain..."

Youhei blushes too, looks away, turns back to me and wiggles his eyebrows. "Alrighty then~" He takes my hand, and we skip and dance around in the rain like a pair of kids, but I couldn't be more happy. We splash around in the puddles, laughing, and we lean in slowly, his lips pressing against mine...

"Ahem." Someone coughs, and we pull apart to see Okazaki, with Tomoyo, Nagisa, Yu and Yukine behind him.

"A-Ah right, we need to go!" I say, laughing nervously. Okazaki just rolls his eyes and we head to Youhei's place.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"So you guys got caught in another mess?" Tomoyo asks, sitting around Youhei's table along with Yu, Yukine, Okazaki and Nagisa. Youhei's sitting on his bed, and I flop down next to him.

"We didn't choose to be in it." Youhei replies stubbornly, and I flick his forehead.

"It was your idiocy that got us in it, You-chan." I huff.

"Yeah, it's all because you pretended to be Kazuto Miyazawa-san." Yu adds.

"Geh..." Youhei mutters, and I sigh and ruffle his hair.

"You're such an idiot..." I lean against him. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"There's a lot of things you could do with me like-" Youhei starts, smirking.

"I don't want to hear it!" I say, blushing.

"I'm familiar with the name Kazuto Miyazawa. I heard a rumor back when I was still fighting gangs. It was said that Kazuto Miyazawa would be the only person who could fight me face to face." Tomoyo says.

"Face to face against you?!" Okazaki exclaims, and my eyes widen. Seeing the damage she's done to Youhei, that must mean this Kazuto guy is incredibly tough.

"I've heard many of your great stories too, Sakagami-san." Yukine smiles.

"I won't bring this matter up in school this time. But..." Tomoyo looks at Yukine.

"But?" Yukine asks.

"The other day, I had a chance to talk to a member of another school's Student Council. There have been many fights in this city recently. At this rate, we will see the police become involved sooner or later. Here's my advice. Stop being fools and be friends. Otherwise you'll all suffer." Tomoyo continues.

"We can't just have all the gangs make up like that, though. They truly hate each other." I say, and Tomoyo just shakes her head and steps out of the room.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Those bastards! I'll kill them all!" One of the gang members shouts. We had returned to the place we met with the gang members before, only to find them completely beat up.

"Let's go raid their place right now!" Another shouts.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Another one agrees.

"Let's go!" They all shout, raising their fists into the air.

"W-Wait! You can't just go rushing into this! Fighting isn't right! You can't-" I sigh when and give up when I realize they're completely ignoring me, and Youhei puts his hand on my shoulder, and I turn around.

"Hey, where'd Okazaki-kun and Yukine-chan go?" I ask, noticing they're absence.

"Yukine dashed out and Okazaki went chasing after her. Hopefully they'll be back soon before this..." Youhei motions to the crowd of excited gang members. "Turns into something serious."

I sigh and roll my eyes. "My dear You-chan, it already is something serious."

We wait for about half an hour until Yukine and Okazaki walk back in, tossing their umbrellas on the floor. They both look exhausted, and a bit upset.

"What happened?!" Nagisa runs over to Okazaki, grabbing a towel and dabbing his face. The gang members crowd around the two of them as well, and soon, Youhei and I join them, listening as Okazaki and Yukine take turns explaining what happened.

"Yuki-nee, how could you do that without talking to us first?!" Sudou exclaims after Yukine tells us what happened.

"I'm sorry. That was the only choice I had in the situation." Yukine murmurs.

"The time is tomorrow morning at the river bank." Okazaki says.

"But Kazuto-san can't fight. We'll have to send a substitute." Sudou mutters.

"Will they accept that?" Someone else asks.

"Hey. They think that Sunohara-san is Kazuto, right?" Yu points out, and I shoot up.

"No. There's no way-" One of the gang members walks up to Youhei and shakes his shoulders.

"That's right!" The gang member says.

"Wait a minute!" I shout, pushing the guy off of Youhei. "There's no way I'm letting You-chan get beat up!"

"But you were bragging the other day that it was you who busted up four guys at once." Yu says, and I facepalm.

"Four guys at once?!" Sudou repeats.

"That's amazing!" The guy who was shaking Youhei says. "You'll totally do as Kazuto-san's substitute."

"H-Hey, wai-" I start.

"They often say 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' but wow, you're amazing." Yu's big sister says.

"You-chan is amazing bu-" I get cut off once more.

"Sunohara Aniki! Please lend us your strength!" The two men bow in front of Youhei, and he Youhei jumps out of his chair.

"First, can I get another drink of this?" Youhei says sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in such an adorable way I almost want to forgive him for being a complete idiot. Almost.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Sunohara-san, are you really going to do a one-on-one fight?" Nagisa asks. The five of us are outside, standing on a hill, where there's a bench.

"You better not be." I cross my arms and glare at him.

"Hey, I guess I have to do it. I did say I was Kazuto Miyazawa after all. It's no big deal." Youhei smiles. But, for some reason, this makes me extremely upset.

"You don't _have _to do anything. And no big deal?! This is a huge deal! You saw what that other gang did to Sudou's gang! And you're going to be fighting their leader...I can't...I don't want anything to happen to you! So don't say this is no big deal!" I shout.

"I'll be fine, Rin-chan. Really. What are you getting so worked up about?" Youhei asks, still seemingly carefree.

"What am I getting so worked up about? _What am I getting so worked up about?!_" I repeat. "You're seriously in danger, You-chan! Those gang members that beat up Sudou and the rest of them. And now you're going to be fight one of them. I just...I don't want anything to happen to you, okay?!" I'm starting to tear up. I overreact way too much...What _am _I getting so worked up about? But...if something happens to Youhei, I'd...I'd...I shake my head. "Never mind. I'm going home. I don't want to be involved in such a stupid situation anymore." I flinch as I say this, then, bite my lip and start walking away.

"Wait! Rin-chan!" Youhei calls after me, and I run down the hill.

Dang it, Youhei...You've put yourself in danger. How can I protect you now...?

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, I'm faced with choice of leaving Youhei alone with his idiocy, or going and trying to stop him, even thought I won't be able to do anything.

It's obvious what I choose to do.

_You-chan...I hope I'm not too late!_

Racing through town, I find the riverbank we were supposed to meet at, to see both sides have already gathered.

"Thank god...I made it..." I pant, bending over and pressing my hands to my knees as I catch my breath. "You...chan..."

"Rin-chan? You came?" Youhei asks, his eyes wide.

I sigh. "Of course I came, idiot. I knew you'd probably do something stupid, and end up being sent to the hospital. So I'm here to watch over you." I stick out my tongue. "But don't do anything stupid. Also...I'm sorry for overreacting yesterday...I was just so worried about you...I still am." I blush and look away.

Youhei smiles and walks over to me, hugging me tightly. My eyes widen when I feel him shaking a little bit. It's barely noticeable, but I still notice it, and I hug him back.

"You know, this is pretty nerve-wracking." Youhei says, laughing nervously.

I smile half-way. "I still wouldn't be able to change your mind, would I?"

"Sorry, Rin-chan. But I got myself into this mess, right? Besides, I'll definitely be able to handle myself~" Youhei winks, but he's still trembling.

"HEY! Are you still going to make us wait?!" One of the gang members shouts.

"Wait until Sasaki-san comes!" Someone replies from across the river.

"God, it feels like my heart's going to burst." Youhei whimpers and I frown, and kiss his cheek.

"You-chan, don't push yourself or anything..." I sigh. If something happens, I won't hesitate to protect you...or at least try. I don't say that out loud, though.

"Sunohara-san, how about filling your stomach while you have the chance?" Nagisa suggests. "This is a little something from my mom."

"Your mom? Wait, isn't her cooking...er..." Youhei stammers, scratching the back of his head.

"I said Sunohara-san would be having a very important fight, so she made bring this. Her newest creation, Hyper Rainbow Bread!" Nagisa pulls out a piece of bread that actually glows, and sparkles in the sunlight, sending bea,s of light everywhere,

"Wow!" Youhei gasps, and my eyes widen.

"Oh yes, and a message from my dad. He said 'Rainbow to you'. And here's an ultimate jam made by her friend. If you put the ultimate jam on Mom's bread, you've got yourself the ultimate combination. Would you all like to try some?" Nagisa asks.

"We can? Thanks." The men say, and Nagisa hands them all bread with jam on it.

"U-Um, that's not a good idea-" I start.

"Let's dig in!" They all say, taking a bite of the bread, including Youhei...

And they all simultaneously fall to the ground.

"What's wrong, everyone?" Nagisa asks, and I kneel beside Youhei. "Please get a hold of yourself!"

Poking his cheek, I sigh. "I never knew Sanae-san's bread was lethal. Well, You-chan you're still breathing...You are, right?!" I put a hand on his chest and sigh in relief when I feel a heart beat, and feel the rise and fall of his breathing. "You idiot..."

"Sorry for the wait!" A voice calls from the other side of the river.

"Crap!" Okazaki mutters.

"What do we do? Everyone's out cold!" Yu asks.

"I'm...not leaving You-chan's side..." I murmur, still beside him.

Okazaki steps forward, taking off his tie. "I'll go."

"Tomoya-kun!" Nagisa cries.

"Are you serious?!" Yu's older sister asks.

"We don't have time to argue. Take care of everyone." Okazaki replies.

"Okazaki-san!" Yukine shouts. Okazaki ignores her, walking towards the river, and standing face to face with leader from the other team.

"It's no good. We need the real Kazuto Miyazawa-san." Yu murmurs.

"Your brother won't come no matter what?!" Yu's older sister exclaims.

"To either fight Sasaki-san or stop the fight, we need Miyazawa-san's brother." Nagisa says.

Yukine frowns. "I-I'm...going to go get my brother..." She says softly.

"Really? You will? Alright!" Yu pumps his fist in the air.

"Will you be all right on your own?" I ask.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine..." Without another word, Yukine dashes off. She was acting a little odd...suddenly, Nagisa lets out a gasp.

"Tomoya-kun!" Nagisa cries. My eyes widen in horror as I watch Okazaki get completely pummeled by the leader from the other gang. The gang leader shoves Okazaki into the river, kicking and punching him relentlessly, then pushes him down and slams his head into the river. I cover my hands over my mouth, and Nagisa bursts into tears.

"TOMOYA-KUN!" She shouts. After a few seconds, a fist comes flying out of the river and slams into the leader's face. Okazaki stands up shakily on two legs.

It seems like the two are fighting for an eternity, with my eyes wide open, not closing, even though I don't want to watch this awful sight. I can't move. Nagisa's crying next to me, and Yukine still hasn't returned. All the members of the gang and Youhei still are unconscious.

Although, as the sky turns dark and stars start to appear, they finally begin to awake.

"You-chan! You're awake!" I let out a sigh of relief and almost knock him over when I hug him, and he rubs his eyes.

"What happened? I was all queasy and-hey, it's already this dark?! What the...wait...Okazaki! Okazaki, what happened?!" Youhei gasps once he sees Okazaki bent over, along with the gang leader. He dashes towards the river.

"W-Wait! You-chan!" I shout, standing up and running after him, stumbling a little.

"What did you do to Yuki-nee's bud?!" Sudou exclaims, running after Youhei as well.

"Everyone, follow them!" Someone in the crowd of the awakened gang shouts. My eyes widen as the run towards us, and I desperately sprint after Youhei.

"Wait, You-chan! Please, wait!" I pant, reaching for him.

"Stop it, Sunohara!" Okazaki yells. The gang on the other side starts running towards the river as well, and they both charge towards each other.

"You-chan, _STOP__!_" I bite my lip and throw my arms out, standing in front of Youhei, suddenly afraid he'll shove me aside.

"Wha-? Rin-chan, get out of the way." Youhei shouts, and my eyes widen. Was that any better...?

"No." I reply, and he's about to respond when suddenly there's a loud gasp, and Youhei whirls around. Standing at the top of the hill is a lone silhouette, the moonlight shining on it.

"K-Kazuto-san!" Someone gasps. So this is Kazuto...?

"How can that be possible...?" Another person mutters.

The leader of the other gang comes running up the hill, and Kazuto charges towards him. I cling to Youhei, and this time, he doesn't try to get away from me. Instead, his arms tighten around me as the two charge at each other.

But what happens next, I could have never expected.

The gang leader throws a punch at Kazuto...

Revealing that Kazuto...is actually Yukine.

She falls back, and the wig she had worn falls off, her hair spilling out.

"Miyazawa?!" Okazaki gasps, and my eyes widen in horror. I pull away from Youhei and dash over to her, along with Okazaki.

"I'm not done yet!" Yukine whispers, standing shakily on two legs as she throws punches at the gang leader.

"Stop it! What are you thinking?!" He asks.

"I'm...Kazuto Miyazawa..." Yukine whimpers, throwing more punches, and the gang leader grabs her arms.

"Stop it, Miyazawa!" Okazaki shouts, pulling Yukine away from the gang leader.

"Let go! Let go!" Yukine cries.

"There's no way she can get Kazuto-san!" Sudou yells, tears streaming down his face.

Youhei runs over to me, pulling into me his arms. "You-chan..." I murmur, starting to cry at all. I've been crying a lot lately, huh...When did I become such a cry-baby? I almost expect Youhei to crack a joke about my crying, but his embrace only tightens.

"Why did she do that...?" The gang leader asks.

"You dumbass! To stop you guys, of course! The only way to stop the fight is for Kazuto Miyazawa to come out!" Okazaki shouts. "That's why she pretended to be her brother! Don't you get it?!"

"Why...why do we have to fight?" Yukine cries."What does it take not to fight?! What does it...What does it take? Please. Please stop fighting...I'm sure my brother wishes for that too..."

That's when I remember.

Kazuto Miyazawa...is dead. My mother's friend was friend's with Yukine's parents. I had heard about it from her...but I guess I never even thought a second thought about it because I didn't know who he was. I didn't even think about the pain their family might be feeling...

That same feeling, that fear of loss I had felt when I heard about Kotomi's backstory, overcomes me again, and I grab Youhei's shirt. "H-Hey, You-chan...do you...remember that thing I said I was going to tell you the other day?"

"Y-Yeah...you don't have to tell me now if you don't want to, or anything..." Youhei stammers.

"No, that's not it...I want to tell you now. First, we need to go somewhere else though." I murmur. I turn back to Yukine and the others. The gangs have mostly dispersed, and Okazaki's propping Yukine up against him, along with the other gang members.

"Yukine-chan! Will you be okay?" I ask, running over to her.

"I...I'll-" Yukine starts.

"Miyazaki will be fine. You two head home." Okazaki says, and I notice his eye is swelling.

"I want to help someho-"

"Really. Head home. There's nothing else you can do anyways." Okazaki says, and without waiting for me to reply, he takes Yukine away, with Nagisa by his side.

"Hey, You-chan..." I say as we walk up the hill.

"What is it?" Youhei asks, squeezing my hand.

"I'm...kind of...stupid, I guess. Worthless...I want to help people, but I can't do anything about it. I'm not strong like Okazaki-kun, kind like Nagisa-chan, helpful like Yukine-chan...and then you, you're amazing. You can be such an idiot, but you're cute when you do it. You're brave and strong, and you can be hilarious. N-Not to mention, you're good-looking and athletic. I want to protect you, but I can't even do something like that. I'm such an idiot...I'm nothi-"

Youhei's eyes widen as I say this, then his lips press against mine, interrupting my words, putting one hand on my cheek, then pulling away too soon, and flicking my forehead.

"I can't believe you'd say something like that. You're far from nothing...You're amazing, Rin-chan. And you help everyone around you, even if you don't realize it. Rin-chan...No one has ever, ever wanted to...protect me. Don't say you don't do it...you're always throwing yourself in front of me, and to tell the truth, it scares me. But, you know...I think it's also cool. You know, it's usually boy protecting the girl, right? You know, you should stop saving me all the time, let me take the spotlight..." Youhei smirks, and I roll my eyes.

"In your dreams, Toilet Seat Cover." I giggle.

"You're still doing that?!" Youhei gasps.

"Of course...Toilet Seat Cover!" I reply, smiling.

Youhei opens the door to his apartment and lays down on the bed, then pats the spot next to him. "Come on then~" He says, wiggling his eyebrows, and winks at me.

I blush super hard, then after much contemplation, I lay down next to him, my heart pounding.

"Sooo...the thing you wanted to tell meeee?" Youhei asks, poking my cheek.

"You're impatient." I huff, poking his cheek back.

"Better than being stubborn." He says, poking my cheek again.

"You are stubborn?!" I exclaim, poking his cheek again as well.

We poke each other over and over again until we both burst out laughing.

"You're always all over me, Rin-chan, geez..." Youhei sighs after we calm down, and I blush again.

"W-What are you t-talking about? Y-You're the one who started it..." I say.

"Yeah, but you did it back~" Youhei points out.

"M-Maybe it's fun to mess around with you!" I stammer, and bury my face into him. "You're horrible, You-chan..."

He pats my back. "I know, I know...Are you gonna tell me nooow?"

I laugh. "Okay, okay. But...it's a little embarrassing, so just tell me if you want me to stop...So...do you remember when Mei-chan was leaving? You had told her w-we were going to get, um, m-m-married..." I blush harder, staring at my hands. "Do you, um...were you...would you w-want to do that...in the f-future? I m-mean not sp-specifically with me...well, it would be nice if it was m-me...Um, I-I can't talk right now...Just forget I said anything!"

Youhei stares at me, then bursts out laughing, and I hide my face with my hands.

"Y-You don't have to laugh at me..." I murmur.

"I'm laughing at you because you're so cute! I've...thought about it before...but, I'm a delinquent...Would I even be able to get married? Would you even want someone like me? I won't be going to college..." Youhei actually looks upset, and it scares me for a moment.

"You-chan! I don't care if you're a delinquent. I told you already, I'm going to make sure we both make it through this school year and graduate _together._ I..." I blush and take his hand. "I'll always be by your side."

Youhei's eyes widen and he tears up and sniffles, then throws his arms around me. "Rin-chaaaan! You can be so mean to me sometimes, but I love yooouuu!"

"Y-You could've left out the 'mean' part, You-chan...I love you, too!" I say, blushing. "Er...I can't breath, You-chan."

_I won't ever leave your side._

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Thank you so very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please stay tuned for the next one!**

**I would appreciate it so much if you left a review telling me what you thought of this chapter and if you would like me to continue this story!**

**Review for special coffee brewed by Yukine Miyazawa herself!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to say now that since there's a huge time skip in the anime around this time, I'm going to start adding events that weren't in the original anime.**

****Thank you so very, very, very much PauloPT90 for your review and continued support! *tackle hugs you* Thank you so much! I am so glad you're enjoying this~I'm going to do a little of both, keep the canon story while also adding my own ideas~And that's going to be coming up! Youhei's and Rin's future together! And I figured Youhei's one of those people who always tries to keep a good mood? XD But he has his moments when he gets a little serious owo XD Thank you sooooo much! :D****

The next day, Yukine invites us, and both gangs, to visit her brother's grave.

"For the longest time, I was afraid of my brother and his friends. But seeing Sudou-san and Tajima-san cry at his funeral, I wondered...'Why didn't I try to understand his way of life more?' That's why I mustered up some courage to get to know everyone. At first, it was scary, but little by little, you all let me into the group. And being with you all made me feel like I was laughing with Kazuto Nii-san. My brother wished there was no fights until the very end. But if the truth of him missing were to be revealed, we thought Sasaki-san's would come against us. That's why we talked matters over and decided to keep my brother's death a secret. It was my brother's wish to be rid of fights from this city. I wanted to realize that...no matter what!" Yukine bends over and tears pour down her face.

I'm about to walk over to her, when Sasaki, the leader from the other gang walks over to her. Yukine turns around, tears dripping down her face, and he clasps his hands together, and bows slightly, in a praying motion.

I turn to Youhei, and we both do the same, closing our eyes and clasping our hands together. _Please let Kazuto-san be happy, wherever he is..._

"I'm sure Kazuto Nii-san's happy right now." Yukine says softly, as if reading my thoughts.

I smile, wiping a few tears that had begun to form away, and take Youhei's hand. "You know...Kazuto-san might haunt you, since you were pretending to be him."

Youhei almost jumps into the air. "Seriously?!"

I put on a serious expression. "Yes. You will now be haunted by Kazuto Miyazawa-san for your idiocy, forever!"

"Noooo! I don't want to be haunted!" Youhei wails and clings to me, sniffling.

I laugh and roll my eyes. "You are seriously so gullible."

"You mean...you were joking?" Youhei gasps.

I shrug. "Who knows?"

He jumps into the air. "Eeeeek!"

"I was joking, geez, You-chan!" I giggle.

"You're so mean, Rin-chan!" Youhei huffs, and turns away.

"You're the idiot here!" I reply, ruffling his hair.

_Are you watching, Kazuto-san? See what your sister has done for you..._

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I feel at peace now." Yukine says. Okazaki, Nagisa, Yukine, Youhei and I are on the roof of the school, the breeze flowing through my hair and making it whip around "It could be that I've finally accepted what happened to my brother." She turns around to face us, and bows. "I owe it all to you. Thank you very much."

I smile. "I'm glad everything got worked out."

Yukine smiles back, looking truly happy. "Oh yes, that reminds me, are you all familiar with this city's legend?"

"Legend?" Okazaki repeats.

"The moment something good happens or a moment of happiness is experienced, an orb of light appears. No one knows what they are. What is for certain is that these lights are taken as a symbol of happiness. And if you obtain one, any one wish can be granted. But it looks like less and less people are seeing them now." Yukine explains.

"So the light Okazaki saw is that?" Youhei asks. After we visited Kazuto's grave, Okazaki claimed he saw an orb of light.

"Maybe Okazaki-san is special." Yukine replies.

"Me?" Okazaki exclaims.

"What do you mean?" Nagisa asks.

"I'm sorry. I'm not sure of anything more. But Okazaki-san, you're still you. My important friend. You're all my important friends. I'm really a blessed person. I'm supported by so many people. Kazuto Nii-san...Thank you." Yukine murmurs.

The wind picks up as she says this, then calms almost immediately after.

"Why don't I get any special orbs of light, huh? I'm a special person!" Youhei huffs as we walk back to class.

"I think you're special...in a different way." I reply, patting his head and giggling.

"In a different way?! What's that supposed to mean?!" Youhei demands.

I bite my lip to keep from laughing more, and walk away, whistling.

"Oi! Rin-chan! What do you meeaaan? Rin-chan! Don't ignore me!" Youhei wails after me, and I cover my mouth with my hand.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Good morning, Rin-chan." Youhei says as I pick him up. "And a toilet seat cover."

"Eh? Didn't you already do that?" I ask.

"Yeah, but I'm in a good mood, so I feel like doing it again. And a toilet seat cover." Youhei replies.

I facepalm. "I always knew, deep inside you were a Toilet Seat Cover." I say, sighing dramatically.

"H-Hey, that's not what I meant! I'm just in a good mood!" Youhei insists.

"Sure, whatever you say. Toilet Seat Cover." I respond, flipping my hair behind my shoulder and raising my eyebrows.

"Can't you stop calling me that?" Youhei whines.

"When you stop saying 'And a toiler seat cover'." I reply. "Why are you in a good mood anyway?"

"I finally figured out what I'm going to do with my future, so you don't have to worry about me anymore!" Youhei says, pumping his fist in the air.

"...That makes me even more worried. What did you decide to do?" I ask.

"I'll tell you in class~" Youhei smirks, and I shake my head. This ought to be interesting.

"Good morning, Okazaki! And a toilet seat cover. I mean-ah-" Youhei starts, and I roll my eyes.

"You did that one already." Okazaki replies.

"You've got a real gloomy face so early in the morning. Did you have a fight with Nagisa?" Youhei asks.

"Hey...have either of you two figured out what you want to do after here?" Okazaki asks, and Youhei and I exchange a glance. This is what we were just talking about.

"I've figured I'll do whatever comes my way, as long as I'm with You-chan. But I'd really like to do something that involves helping people, like becoming a doctor or a nurse, that sort of thing..." I murmur.

"Ooh! You'd look great in a nurse's uniform~Ohohohoho~" Youhei says, chuckling, and I blush hard and hit him on the head.

"Y-You idiot! You do realize nurse's outfits don't look anything like they do in shows and manga, right?!" I huff.

"Aww. Boo." Youhei says, and I hit his head again.

"Pervert." I mutter, blushing harder, and Okazaki laughs.

"What about you, Sunohara?" Okazaki asks.

"Of course! To not worry my lovely girlfriend or sister, I've though things through seriously and have come to a conclusion!" Youhei says dramatically, and I sigh and rest my chin on my hands.

"Seriously?!" Okazaki exclaims.

"Yeah! I'm going to make money with my looks! A model, I tell you! A model!" Youhei replies, and my eyes widen.

"A model?!" Okazaki and I repeat in unison.

"I think I'm fit to be a model. It's possible to shift into entertainment business through modeling, too, right? Crap! I might become famous! I'll put lots of young ones under my spell and form the Sunohara Legion!" Youhei explains.

"You really are an optimist." Okazaki mutters.

"My future is blessed!" Youhei sighs happily.

"H-Hey, wait a minute! Y-You may be right about you being fit to be a model, but if you're famous, that means you'll have lots of fans, right? And that means..." I trail off.

"Are you getting jealoooouuuss?" Youhei smirks and pokes my nose.

"O-Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" I huff.

When we go to the Theater Club room, Youhei has Ryou tell his fortune.

"It works! Sunohara-kun, you can become a model!" Ryou exclaims.

"Really?! Yay!" Youhei cheers, and I pout.

"You'll become a really popular model. You will be able to go into the entertainment industry and form the Sunohara Legion, too." Ryou adds.

"All right! Okazaki! I'll draft you into my legion one day, too!" Youhei says.

"I look forward to it." Okazaki murmurs.

"Geez..." I sigh, drumming my fingers on the desk.

"What's wrong, Rin? Are you...jealous?" Ryou laughs.

"Wh-why does everything think I'm jealous?! Of course not! I just don't want You-chan getting famous and having crazy fangirls all over him...Oh my god I'm jealous..." I groan and bang my head on the desk.

Youhei walks over to me and pats my head. "Don't worry, Rin-chan. You'll always be the one who has my heart~!" He says dramatically.

I sigh and turn away. "Whatever..." I mutter.

"Eek! R-Rin-chaaan!" Youhei wails, turning around to face me. I turn away again.

"Hmph!" I huff. It's fun to mess with Youhei~ "So, Tomoyo-san, what are you doing here?" I ignore Youhei.

"Well, I wanted to check up on you guys. But everyone here is a senior but me, aren't they? Do you know what you'll all be doing after you graduate?" Tomoyo asks, while Youhei desperately tries to get my attention.

"I'm planning on going to nursing school." Ryou says, and my eyes widen.

"Really? I was thinking of doing something like that, too! Maybe we can go together, Ryou-chan!" I exclaim.

"O-Of course!" Ryou smiles.

"I'm aiming to become a kindergarten teacher. So I'm going to a school that gives me the necessary degree." Kyou says.

"Rin-chaaaan!" Youhei's finger pokes my cheek.

"I think...I'll be studying abroad in America." Kotomi murmurs.

"Eh!?" We all shout in unison.

"It'll be sad to say goodbye to everyone, but I'll come back to Japan as soon as possible." Kotomi says, and I frown.

"Kotomi-chan..." I say softly.

"We won't be able to listen to your breathtaking violin anymore, huh?" Tomoyo asks. My eyes widen. Is she being serious?

"Rin!"

"If you crave it, I can play it." Kotomi says, reaching for her violin.

"Stop! Keep your thoughts to yourself! You've got to learn to read into things a little more." Kyou says.

"I'm sorry. I'm working on it, but..." Tomoyo trails off.

"She's being very rude." Kotomi comments.

"Riiiinnn!" Youhei wails and pokes me several times.

"What will you be doing Okazaki-kun?" Ryou asks.

"I heard you haven't even decided whether to go to college or get a job, even running away from teachers. Come on, Nagisa. You've got to spank Tomoya's butt more." Kyou huffs, but Nagisa's cheeks are flushed and she looks weak.

"Nagisa, what's wrong?!" Okazaki exclaims.

"I'm sorry...I feel a little..." Nagisa trails off and slumps over.

"Nagisa-chan!" I gasp. Okazaki puts his hand on her forehead.

"She's got a fever." He mutters. "I'm going to take her home."

"Nagisa-chan..." Kotomi murmurs. We watch as Okazaki carries her out of the room, then I sit back down.

"Come to think of it, she was looking ill all morning..." I sigh. "Poor Nagisa-chan."

"Rin-chaaaaaaaan!" Youhei waves his hand in front of my face. "If you don't answer me now, I'll, I'll...kiss you!" This makes me fall out of my chair.

"Ow, ow..." I mutter, rubbing my head. "Honestly, You-chan..."

"Not in here!" Kyou shouts. "No kissing!"

"Rin-chan! I'm sorry!" Youhei throws his arms around me. "Don't ignore me, dearest Rin-chan!"

I laugh. "There, there, You-chan. I was only messin' with ya! But...I could still use a kiss..."

His eyes widen. "You're horrible, Rin-chan! And now that you say you want it, I don't feel like it anymore." Youhei smirks, and I just roll my eyes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I stay over at Youhei's place that afternoon.

"Shouldn't you be with Nagisa?" Youhei asks as Okazaki steps in and sits down.

"Yeah, if I was sick, I'd want You-chan with me." I say, resting my chin on the kotatsu.

"A doctor's at her home right now. If I'm there, I'm sure I'd make things awkward." Okazaki replies. There's a knock at the door.

"Come in." Youhei calls, and I sit up.

"Sunohara. You've got a call from your sister." It's Misae.

"Righty-o. Anything you guys want to say to her?" Youhei says, standing up.

"Tell her to come visit again." Okazaki says. "Oh, but don't tell her Nagisa's sick."

"Tell her I said hi! And that you're as stupid as ever, but I still love you." I say, smiling.

"Okay-wait, what!? I'm not going to say that stupid part." Youhei huffs, and I roll my eyes. Youhei walks out of the room.

"What do you mean?" Misae asks Okazaki. "Furukawa-san's sick?"

"She's not very healthy to begin with. She's repeating this year because she was short on her attendance last year for the same reason." Okazaki explains.

"I see." Misae murmurs, then walks over to Okazaki and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Make sure you do a good job taking care of her. And you..." Misae turns to me, and I blink. "Make sure to tell me if Sunohara does anything stupid to you, okay? I can beat him up." She winks.

"I'm gone for two minutes and you guys already are making plans to beat me up?!" Youhei gasps, dashing into the room.

I laugh. "Maybe. But..." I turn back to Misae. "I don't think you'll have to worry about it. He may be an idiot in general, but I don't think he'd ever do anything like that..."

"Gotcha. Well, you two better not be doing anything weird in here..." Misae glances suspiciously at me and Youhei, her eyebrows raised.

"W-W-W-We d-d-don't!" I stammer, blushing bright red.

"Ohohoho! But weren't you saying you wanted to try something today~?" Youhei asks, smirking.

"N-No! I never said anything like that!" I reply, hitting his head.

"Don't worry, Misae. I'll keep these two in line." Okazaki says, saluting, and I sigh and roll my eyes as she leaves the room.

"Honestly, You-chan..." I flop on to his bed and roll around. "You don't change at all."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Youhei says, sitting down next to me.

"Maybe." I reply, sitting up and leaning on him, poking his shoulder. Okazaki grabs one of Youhei's manga and starts to read. "Are you really going to become a model?"

"Well, I'm going to try. Will it bother you...?" Youhei asks.

"I just don't want you to forget about me when you become all famous..." I laugh, and Youhei ruffles my hair.

"I won't ever forget about you, Rin-chan." He replies, his expression serious. "Ever. I love you."

I blush. "I-I love you too, You-chan. Lots and lots." Youhei takes my hand, leaning in, and my eyes widen, and I lean in too, and our lips press together. I completely forget that Okazaki was also in the room, and I close my eyes, completely filled with warmth, and everything seems to slow down, like honey spilling over.

That is until there's an "Ahem." Okazaki shouts across the hall, "MISAE! SUNOHARA AND RIN ARE MAKING OUT!"

"Kyaaaa!" I nearly fall off the bed when Okazaki shouts this.

"W-W-W-What the heck, Okazaki-kun?!" I blush.

"Okazaki!" Youhei stares at me, until we all start to laugh.

"Th-that wasn't even...m-m...oh, forget it!" I sigh, hiding my face with my hands. Misae doesn't show up, so I guess she didn't hear him.

Okazaki heads back to Nagisa's after a while, leaving Youhei and I alone.

"Alone at last." Youhei says, and winks at me.

I wiggle my eyebrows. "Yep. Alone. Now we can finally...study!"

Youhei falls over. "Rin-chaaaan!" He wails, crawling over to me.

I huff. "What? We can't start to slack off since it's getting colder." I say, poking his forehead. "Now, come on." Sighing, I get out the homework we had, and pull out textbooks. We work on that for about half an hour with Youhei fidgeting like crazy until he finally stands up.

"I can't take this anymore!" Youhei shouts.

I sigh. "Take what, You-chan? We've hardly got anything done."

Youhei blushes. "Look! We're alone. Together. _Alone._" He puts emphasis on that word.

"Your point is?" I smirk and lean back.

"Isn't there...anything...you...want to do?" Youhei asks.

"Yes." I reply. "Study."

"Gak! You know what I mean!" Youhei groans, leaning against me. I pat his head.

"Maybeee I do..." I giggle.

"I just can't concentrate on studying in an environment like this." Youhei huffs.

"Environment like this?" I reply. "It's your own room."

"In my room. Alone. With _you_." Youhei exclaims, waving his hands in the air.

"Why do you keep saying that?" I blink, trying to keep myself from smiling.

Youhei suddenly smirks. "Guess I'll just have to show you~" My eyes widen as he kneels down beside me, cupping my face with his hands, bringing his face closer to mine, his lips centimeters away, when there's a knock at the door, and before we can pull away from each other, Misae comes busting into the room.

"Aha! With Okazaki-san gone, I knew you two would try to do something suspicious!" Misae says, and we jump apart from each other.

"O-Oh! I just remembered, I should be getting home now!" I say, changing the subject and walking out of the room.

"E-Eh? At least let me walk you home!" Youhei says, following me out the door. "You didn't want to stay any longer?"

"Of course I wanted to stay longer, silly. I didn't want you getting in trouble with Misae-san for putting moves on me." I giggle. "Now...we can be alone." I blush, and I take Youhei's hand, interlacing our fingers.

His eyes widen and he squeezes my hand, and we walk a little while until my house appears into the distance, and we stop.

"C-Can I...make it up to you?" I ask shyly, looking up at Youhei.

Youhei smirks and tilts head, pretending to be confused. "Make up what?"

I roll my eyes, then blush and lean in, grabbing Youhei's other hand, closing my eyes, and kiss him. I never noticed how soft his lips were before...I-Ignore that, please! When we finally pull apart, a small part of me is tempted to lean right back in...My cheeks are flushed, and I'm breathless, and so is he.

"...Wow." Youhei says after a while, and I blush even more and look away.

"C-Come on, You-chan!" I huff, squeezing his hand and dragging him with me as I walk to my house.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I wake up the next morning, I feel a little dizzy. As I get out of bed, I have to put one hand on my desk to keep from falling over. I shake my head. I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night. I also feel really cold...maybe it's colder outside today?

"Good morning, Rin-chan!" Youhei says, smiling widely when he sees me at his door, but his smile immediately fades into a frown when he sees my current state. "What's wrong?! Your face is all pink, and you look sick..."

I smile weakly. "I'm fine, You-chan! Really! I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night." I say. He raises his eyebrows, then shrugs and takes my hand as we walk to school. I stumble a few times, but Youhei doesn't seem to notice.

"Good morning, Okazaki." Youhei greets Okazaki as we arrive at school. Okazaki doesn't seem to be listening, or he ignores Youhei, as he stares out the window.

"You're thinking about Nagisa, aren't you? Aren't you worrying too much?" Youhei asks. "It happened before, too, hadn't it? Last time Nagisa got sick, you were out of your mind."

"I think it's good that Okazaki-kun's worrying about Nagisa-chan. If you were the one who was sick, I'd probably be out of my mind, too." I say to Youhei, shivering. It's really cold...why is it so cold?!

"Hey, Rin-chan, are you cold or something?" Youhei asks me, noticing my shivering. I nod, and look away. "Are you sure you're okay this morning?"

"I'm f-fine, You-chan. Really. Don't worry about me. Didn't you just get on Okazaki's case for worrying too much?" I point out.

Youhei sighs. "It's different when I'm the one worrying. Anyways..." Youhei half-smiles and puts his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "Are you warmer now?"

"Y-Yes." I reply, smiling weakly, but the truth is I feel colder. My vision...it's getting blurry again. I stop walking and rub my eyes, but it hasn't gotten any better. My ears are starting to ring, and for some reason, my head begins to throb.

"Rin-chan? What's wrong?" Youhei asks, turning around.

"I...You-chan..." I murmur, my head spinning. No, it's not my head...everything around me is spinning. My knees go out underneath me, and suddenly everything turns black.

"_Rin!_" Someone shouts my name, and the last thing I feel is someone's arms holding me up as I slip into unconsciousness.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I awaken, I can't even see properly at first, but my vision finally clears. I hear someone humming beside me, and I turn my head to find...Youhei? Something falls of my forehead, and this grabs his attention. He turns around and his eyes widen when he sees me.

"Rin-chan! You're awake! Thank god!" Youhei says, hugging me tightly, then blushes and pulls away. "...Sorry. How are you feeling?"

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out, and Youhei hands me a glass of water. I blink, and sip it, then sit up. "What happened?" I ask.

"You passed out in the hall." Youhei frowns. "You have a fever, probably the same as Nagisa's."

"...Have you been with me this whole time?" I ask softly.

Youhei winks and does a thumbs-up. "Yep! Never left your side! Well, once, to go to the bathroom, but that was it. I tried getting a hold of your parents, but neither of them answered."

I tear up. "Y-You-chan...you...Uwaaah! Thank you...You actually can be a responsible boyfriend once in a while."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Youhei says, pouting, and I giggle. Suddenly, I shiver.

"Are you cold?" Youhei asks. I nod. "You have a fever, so I can't give you much else..." Suddenly he blushes and lays down beside me, wrapping his arm around me.

"H-Hey! What if you get sick?!" I demand, blushing.

"So? That doesn't matter. It just means I can stay home from school~Besides...being with you is important." Youhei replies. Sighing, I pull the blanket up and cover my mouth.

"I'm still going to try to keep you from getting sick. Wait...what about school today?!" I ask, keeping the blanket over my mouth.

"Obviously I'm staying home with you." Youhei responds.

"Y-You-chan! You're probably just using my sickness as a reason to stay away from school..." I sigh, turning away.

"Didn't you say if you were sick you'd want me with you?" Youhei points out.

"...Yes." I murmur.

"Well, here I am." Youhei replies, and I turn back to him.

"You really are an idiot..." I sigh.

"I can go home, if you want." Youhei says, and I frown.

"...D-Don't go home..." I whisper. "Still, though...I don't want you missing school because of me. So...can you try and go to school for the both of us?" I ask. "Y-You can come back here, but only if you want to, afterwards..."

Youhei groans, and for a second I think he's going to decline. "Fiiiine. But only for you. Dang it, school's going to be so much more boring without you around."

I blush. "Thank you. And heh, you'll have to deal with me reminding of you of what an idiot you are for a while."

Youhei ruffles my hair. "You can be such a handful, you know?"

"Shouldn't I be telling you that?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"Hey. Who's the one being a handful now?" Youhei asks.

"..." I pout and close my eyes. "...Toilet Seat Cover."

"Gwagh!" Youhei falls of my bed, and I laugh.

I spend the next week confined to bed, under Youhei's strict instructions. As promised, he goes to school, and brings back notes that Ryou had written for me. My parents are away during most of the day and return later at night, exhausted, so I don't bother them.

After the week ends, I head back to school, completely refreshed. But Nagisa hasn't returned yet...

"Rin-chan! I'm glad to see you're okay!" Ryou says once I return.

I smile. "Thank you for your concern! You-chan took good care of me."

"Wait...what did you say?" Kyou asks.

"Hmm? You-chan took good care of me?" I repeat.

"And you mean Youhei, right? _That _Youhei?" Kyou asks, and I blink and nod. "What parallel universe are we on?! Where Youhei actually does something _right _for once?!"

I giggle and Youhei sniffles.

"I-Is is that surprising?" Youhei wails, and I pat him on the head, then look around.

"...Nagisa-chan's still out, huh?" I notice, and everyone shakes their heads. "We'll be having a lot of tests soon...I hope she doesn't get into to much trouble if she misses them."

We all exchange looks with each other, then I smile.

"Let's all make sure to write lots of notes for Nagisa-chan, and try to visit her as much as we can!" I say. "Okazaki-kun, you live with her now, right? Do you think she'd mind having company?"

Okazaki smiles. "She'd love it. But be warned, since she's so sick, she won't be able to talk much."

"I really hope Nagisa-chan gets better soon...Let's all do our best to make sure she can come back to school healthy!" I pump my fist in the air.

Kyou sighs, then smiles. "You really are an optimist, aren't you?"

oOoOoOoOoOo

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter ^w^ Please let me know what you thought in a review~I'd love to hear your advice, ideas, and opinions!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thank you so very much PauloPT90 for your review! :D It made my day~~Hehe, another reviewer asked me to make chapters shorter XD Hmm, hmm, I'll have to find a way to compromise. And I'm planning to do something like that coming up~And as for what will happen with Youhei, I have something planned that's a little similar, but a little bit different XD But neither one of them could leave the other, so~Thank you for your ideas! :D Anyway, I'm so glad your enjoying the story so far! Please continue supporting! :D Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter! This one's going to be a little short too ~**

"I got it!" I abruptly shoot out of my chair, knocking it over. Everyone turns to stare at me, and I turn bright red, picking my chair up off the ground and sitting back down. "Okay, so you know how Nagisa-chan likes the Big Dango Family?"

"More like obsessed..." Youhei mutters, and I hit him on the head.

"We should do something that has to with the Dango Family, and give it to her as a get-well gift." I continue.

Kyou rubs her chin. "That idea's actually...not half-bad."

"I think Nagisa would love that." Okazaki says.

"It sounds like it will be fun!" Kotomi smiles.

"What did you have in mind?" Ryou asks.

"I was thinking, maybe we could draw her a picture of the Dango Family along with get well notes or maybe make her Dango like Okazaki and I did back when we were first trying to restart the Theater Club. Or...we could record all of us singing the Dango song." I raise my eyebrows as I say the last one.

"I vote for Dango Karaoke!" Youhei shouts, standing up.

"Youhei, sit down." Kyou says, pushing him back down.

"Pffft..." I snort, and roll my eyes. "Anyone else?"

"Why don't we do all of them?" Okazaki suggests. "Although I won't do singing."

"Actually, I really want to hear Tomoya sing now..." Kyou smirks.

"I want to hear Tomoya-kun sing, as well." Kotomi smiles.

"I-It would be n-nice..." Ryou stammers.

"I wanted to do Karaoke in the first place!" Youhei shoots up again.

"H-Hey, I said I wasn't going to-" Okazaki starts.

"Then it's settled~We shall do all of the above for Nagisa-chan! Any objections?" I ask, shoving Youhei back down. Okazaki raises his hand. "None? Good! Let's get started!"

"I love it when you're fesity~" Youhei says to me with a dreamy look on his face.

I feel my face heating up and sit back down, turning away from Youhei.

"Hey, I raised my hand!" Okazaki says.

"What should we get started on first?" I ask, ignoring Okazaki.

"Why don't we start with the poster? That will be the easiest to do." Ryou suggests.

"You-chan and I can go get suppl-" I start.

"Ryou and I will go get supplies from the art room." Kyou narrows her eyes and glances at the two of us. "If you two went together you'd probably just start making out."

I bang my head on the desk. "Why does everyone jump to that conclusion right away?!" I wail as Kyou and Ryou walk out of the room.

Youhei pats my head and laughs. "Maybe it's because we-"

I make a desperate attempt to cover his mouth but then end up falling out of my chair, knocking him over, and landing on top of him.

"Hey Onee-chan was wondering what color we should-OH MY GOODNESS!" Ryou gasps when she sees the two of us. Kyou comes dashing into the room.

"Ryou, what's wrong?!" Kyou asks, then facepalms when she sees the two of us. "Can you guys keep your hands off of each other for two seconds!?"

"I-It's-It's-I-" I stammer.

"What can I say? I'm irresistible~" Youhei smirks and winks at me. I blush and stand up, wiping myself off.

"D-Don't be ridiculous! Geez!" I huff, turning away.

"...I still won't do the karaoke." Okazaki says.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

A few hours later, we've finished the poster. Kotomi had the idea to draw a dango to represent everyone in the Theater Club, and we all left a bunch of 'Get Well' messages.

"Okazaki-kun, can you pick up the stuff you used to make those dango before?" I ask. I have a flashback and remember the dango I had made for Youhei, before we started dating, and how he still has it in his room.

"Yeah, sure." He replies.

"Let's move on to karaoke!" I say, pumping my fist in the air.

"Hey, didn't you say you get nervous in front of me?" Youhei asks, raising his eyebrows.

"We've done it twice before now, so I guess I'm kind of used to it. You still make my heart pound, though...I mean, ignore that!" I huff, turning away. "Okazaki-kun! You are definitely singing!"

"I already said I wouldn't!" Okazaki replies.

"Awww, Okazaki-kun, just think of how happy Nagisa-chan would be to hear you singing! You know, I bet it'd make her so happy it would cheer her right up!" I say, smirking.

"...Fine." Okazaki sighs.

"Yay! Okay! Does anyone have their cell phone with them?" I ask.

"I've got mine." Kyou says, pulling out. "Should I record a video?"

"Yep! Okay, everyone ready...Ryou-chan, what's wrong!?" I ask. Ryou's trembling slightly.

"I-I don't really think I can sing..." Ryou murmurs.

"Don't make Ryou do anything she doesn't want to do." Kyou says.

I sigh. "But it would only work if everyone in the Theater Club did it..."

"Rin-" Kyou starts.

"Onee-chan, it's fine. I'll do it for Nagisa-chan." Ryou says, smiling.

"Alright! Everyone, let's do this!" I cheer. We all crowd together in front of Kyou's phone, which was set down on a stool, recording us. Youhei takes my hand and winks at me, and I blush and look away.

"Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango, Dango Daikazoku..."

"Oh my gosh, that was embarrassing!" I wail, collapsing in my chair once we finish.

"What happened to not being embarrassed?" Youhei asks, sitting next to me.

"It's easier said then done." I reply, resting my chin on the desk. "You always manage to make me nervous somehow."

"I do?" Youhei asks, then sits across from me, and puts his face directly in front of mine. "How's this?"

I blush and poke his nose with my finger. "Horrible."

He moves his face even closer. "And this?"

I blush harder and sit up. "Wh-what are you trying to do?"

"Make you nervous~" Youhei replies. "It's cute when you are."

"Hey, me and Tomoya are going to run out and get some supplies. Kotomi, Ryou, keep an eye on those two." Kyou says, pointing to me and Youhei.

I fall out of my chair. "We don't need to constantly be supervised!" I say.

Kyou raises her eyebrows at me, along with Okazaki, and I sigh and pick up my chair, sitting back down. "...Fine."

Kotomi and Ryou join Youhei and I at the table-of-desks, and we all sit in a kind of awkward silence until I feel something kick my foot.

Letting out a sigh, I glance over at Youhei, who drums his fingers on the desk and whistles, looking over at me, then quickly looking away. I bite my lip and kick his foot back, looking away from him, and feel his foot kick mine again. I roll my eyes and kick him back, and we continue like this for a while.

"Ahahahaha!" I burst out laughing, then slap my hands over my mouth.

"A-Are you okay, Rin-chan?" Ryou asks, and Youhei smirks and pats my head.

"I think she's just excited." Youhei says, and I look at him.

"Excited for what?" Ryou and I say in unison.

"Rin-chan and Youhei-kun were playing what Kyou-chan calls 'footsie' under the desks." Kotomi explains, and Youhei and I simultaneously bang our heads on the desk.

At that moment, Kyou and Okazaki come back into the room with a bunch of bags.

"We're here!" Kyou says, dropping the bags on the table. "Did they do anything suspicious?"

"They were-" Kotomi starts, and I cover her mouth.

"Nothing, nothing!" I say, then change the subject. "I thought you guys were only getting stuff to make the dango. Why do you have so many bags?"

Kyou winks. "We're going to be in here a while longer, right? So I brought some food!"

"Food!" Youhei and I cheer at the same time, look at each other, blush, then look away.

Kyou rolls her eyes and pulls some food out of the bags, which mostly consists of soda and chips. And a bunch of dango.

"I thought since we're making dango, why not have some, right?" Kyou says, handing us each a stick of dango.

"It's been a while since I've had some..." I blink and take a bite, then let out a sigh. "It tastes so good! Now I'm pumped again! Let's do this!"

Youhei laughs at my enthusiasm, and together, we make dango for Nagisa.

"Help...You-chan...I can't stop making them!" I wail. My arm moves mechanically as I make yet another dango, and they're starting to pile up on the desks. We've been working on this for quite a while now, and the sky had gotten dark a little while ago.

"This is boooring..." Youhei says, flopping on the ground. "Let's go somewhere and mess around, Rin-chan~~"

"Mmm...Sounds tempting." I say, grinning.

"Really?!" Youhei exclaims.

I roll my eyes and flick his forehead. "It's too late to go and mess around."

"Ohohoho! But the night's only just begun, Rin-chan~!" Youhei says, wiggling his eyebrows.

I blush and cover my hands with my face. "S-Stooop~Or else..."

"Or else...?" Youhei repeats.

"I-I'll go crazy." I huff, still hiding my face.

"..."

"Stop flirting!" Kyou hurls a book at Youhei's face, and I jump up.

"E-Eep! You-chan! Whoa, Kyou-san, you have to teach me to throw like that!" I exclaim.

"Hey, aren't you worried about me?" Youhei whimpers.

I roll my eyes. "Of course I am. Are you okay?" I bend down, pick the book up, and kiss his nose.

"Y-Yes! I'm okay!" Youhei stammers, blushing, and I sigh.

"We finished everything, right? So how about we deliver these to Nagisa tomorrow after school? It's too late today." I suggest, poking Youhei's nose.

"Sounds good. Tomoya, let Nagisa know we'll be stopping by, okay? But don't tell her that we made her anything." Kyou says.

We walk out of the school, me carrying the poster, and Ryou carrying the dango in a bag.

"Phew, that was exhausting. But it was also really fun being able to do stuff with everyone!" I say as Youhei and I walk home, the night breeze blowing around us and lifting my hair off my shoulders.

"You're such a werido, Rin-chan." Youhei sighs, raising his eyebrows as he turns to look at me. "But..." He puts his arm around me. "You're my weirdo."

"Oh my god, You-chan..." I giggle.

"What?!" Youhei exclaims.

"You can be so cheesy." I reply, sighing, then smile. "I never knew you had a cute side like that. I always figured you would be a rude-delinquent kind of boyfriend."

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" Youhei demands, his eyes wide.

I laugh. "It's a good thing! Your delinquent side is cute, too, though. Dang it...It's not fair at all..."

Youhei blinks. "What's not fair?"

"That everything about you is cute?! That amount of cuteness should be illegal..." I blush and my eyes widen when I realize what I said. "Wh-what am I saying? Forget that..."

He's staring at me. "...Do you mean that?" Youhei's eyes are wide, blue pools, and I suddenly feel like I could be pulled right in...

"Eh?" I ask, then shake my head. "Oh, um, sorry the words just came out of my mouth and I wasn't thinking and that was really weird and sorry that must have creeped you out and-"

My eyes widen even more when I feel something warm press against my lips. A sturdy arm wraps around my waist, holding me up, as my knees go weak, but that arm releases me just as quick, and my eyes lock with Youhei's, his mouth twisted into a smirk.

"How was that? I think that's my favorite way of shutting you up~" Youhei says, wiggling his eyebrows.

I turn bright red. "Y-Y-You...idiot!" I huff, hitting him on the head and storming off.

"W-Wait! Rin-chaaan!" Youhei calls after me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Rin..." My mother walks into my room, and I glance up suspiciously.

"I already cleaned the dishes." I say, putting my ear-buds back in.

"That isn't what I wanted to talk about." She says, walking over to me and yanking them out.

"Hey-" I start.

"I wanted to have your boyfriend come over for dinner. I think it's about time we meet him." Mom cuts me off.

"Wh-what? Hold on a seco-" She cuts me off again.

"I already invited him over for Friday. Oh, I made sure Haruo-san and Yuma and Naoki will be here, too." Without another word, my mother walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her, while I stare at nothing in particular with my mouth hanging open.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Huehuehue so that was my sad attempt at a cliffhanger :'D**

**Watching the new SAO episodes coming out and both ended in cliff-hangers and oh my gosh I'm on edge XD**

**Anyways, if you could please leave a review that would be so very kind! I'd appreciate it so much! And it would help inspire me to continue the story~Your opinions are very important, so please tell me what you think!**


	26. Chapter 26

**ok so **

**I found a picture of Sunohara with cat ears**

**And I just**

**Omg**

**Rin: You-chan...with cat ears...? Hehehehe...**

**Youhei: Rin-chan are you okay?**

**Rin: ...**

**Rin: *nosebleed***

**Also, thank you so very much PauloPT90 for your review! I'll try to stick with that length, then! And I figured it would be good to write an easy-going chapter every once in a while XD And I know! Almost there, 100k! So are you saying that I should add those qualities in or that this story already has them? I try my very best writing~XD**

"Good morning, You-chan." I say, smiling, although it ends up more as a grimace.

"Good morning, Rin-chan! Is something wrong?" Youhei asks, noticing my expression.

I shake my head and manage to pull my lips into a smile. "N-Nothing's wrong! We can't be late to class, so let's go!"

Youhei frowns and tilts his head. He doesn't believe me. Taking his hand before he can say anything else,we rush out of the dorm, my head spinning.

The sky's a cloudy gray, looking as if rain could pour down any minute. This makes me even more gloomy, and a soft breeze blows through, making me shiver.

"..n!...-chan! Rin-chan!" A voice calls my name over and over, and I see Youhei standing right in front of me, waving his hand in front of my face.

"Eh?!" I gasp, coming back to the present. How long had I been spacing out for? Youhei frowns.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Youhei asks.

"I-I'm sure! I have a lot on my mind is all..." I look down. He hasn't mentioned anything about my mother calling him yet...For some reason, this makes me happy. Maybe the whole thing was a joke.

Youhei sighs, and scratches the back of his head in an adorably-embarrassed way. "W-Well, I want you to know that I'm here for you...You've been with me through a lot...I want to return the favor."

I blush and smile, a real, genuine smile. "Thank you, You-chan. Th-that means a lot to me." I giggle. "You can be such a dork, you know that right?"

"I'll take that as a compliment~" Youhei smirks.

"Oh yeah, that r-" I start.

"Oh yeah, your mom invited me over on Friday." Youhei says, and my eyes widen. I don't even think he heard me. Guess it wasn't a joke after all...

"Y-Yeah, that's right..." I murmur.

"I'm excited to finally meet your family! I hope they accept me..." Youhei laughs nervously, but I'm only half-listening. If he meets them...what will he think?

"Rin-chaaaan~" Youhei pokes my waist, and I jump up.

"Yes!" I blush.

"You've been spacing out a lot..." Youhei sighs. "Maybe I should kiss you..."

"Eep! K-Kiss?!" I exclaim, turning bright red.

He laughs. "Yep, that got your attention. Come on." Youhei starts to run towards school.

"Y-You mean you aren't going to kiss me?!" I huff. "I-I mean, not that I would care if you d-don't! Or do! Wh-whatever!"

Youhei rolls his eyes and walks back towards me, giving me a quick kiss and raising his eyebrows. "Is that better?"

I blush and turn away. "N-No! Maybe...y-yes..." Youhei laughs again and ruffles my hair, and together we walk to school, and momentarily, I forget about what's going to happen on Friday. _Momentarily. _

"Okazaki-kun! We'll be stopping by Nagisa-chan's place later today, right?" I ask. Okazaki frowns, staring at his desk.

"Nagisa...her parents took her to the hospital again, since she doesn't seem to be showing any sign of recovering..." Okazaki drums his fingers on his desk, the frown staying on his face, and Youhei and I exchange a glance. He really is worried about Nagisa, huh...

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry! Nagisa-chan will get better, I'm sure of it!" I say. "Especially with you by her side."

Okazaki blinks, then shakes his head and nods, staring out the window.

"I'm lucky to have gotten better so quick...then again, I did have a great guy by my side..." I glance at Youhei and smile half-way.

"What? Who was that?!" Youhei exclaims, and I snort.

"You, idiot!" I huff, hitting him on the head.

"O-Of course! I knew that!" Youhei says, crossing his arms and smirking, while I roll my eyes.

"Suuuure, you did. Idiot." I say. "Oh, and Toilet Seat Cover."

"Gah!" Youhei bangs his head on the desk, while I sigh and ruffle his hair, turning back to Okazaki. Will everything be okay with Nagisa...?

"So she'll be in the hospital today, huh..." Kyou repeats after I explained what Okazaki had told us.

"Our plans for today will have to be canceled..." I sigh, leaning on the desk. "Although Okazaki-kun had later told me she should be back home tomorrow, so we can stop by then." Tomorrow...Tomorrow is also Friday. "Tomorrow..." I murmur out loud.

"Speaking of which, where is Tomoya anyway?" Kyou asks, leaning back in her chair.

"He said he wanted to stay home and wait for Nagisa to get back." Youhei replies. "He really worries too much..."

I smile. "You were the same way when I was sick, You-chan. But, that really isn't a bad thing. It's kind of nice to know that someone's actually thinking about you...you know?" I say softly.

Youhei stares at me, with a curious expression, but I just shake my head.

"Oh yeah, thank you, You-chan, for staying with me..." I blush.

"Hmm? No problem. You're cute when you're all helpless like that~" Youhei says, poking my cheek, and I blush more and look away.

"That reminds me..." I say. "Nagisa-chan hasn't been showing any signs of getting better...Okazaki-kun told me that...she may not be able to graduate this year...she might have to repeat again."

"What?!"

"No way..."

"That can't be true..."

"I-It isn't definite yet, but it's starting to become a possibility." I continue, staring out the window. "She...might not be able to graduate with us."

"Nagisa-chan..." Kotomi murmurs.

I shake my head and stand up. "That's exactly why we _can't give up._ We have to try our very best to help Nagisa-chan get better."

Kyou shakes her head. "You just don't know when to give up, do you..."

"Maybe I don't. But I don't want to give up when there's still a chance for things to get better. Nagisa-chan still has time to get better. So we have to try while we still can." I insist.

Ryou and Kotomi look at each other and smile, and Youhei stands up with me.

"Hey, I'll be supporting you with whatever you want to do." He says, winking at me, and I blush and smile.

"All in favor of helping Nagisa-chan say I!" I shout.

"I!" Kotomi and Ryou say.

Kyou smiles. "I!"

"I!" Youhei joins in, pumping his fist in the air. Suddenly the door opens, and footsteps approach us. Tomoyo's here, along with Yukine.

"We'd like to help, as well." Tomoyo says, and Yukine nods.

I blink and turn back to look at everyone. Youhei tensed up since Tomoyo walked in, and I roll my eyes and put my hand on his shoulder.

"We'd love to have the help! Thank you so much!" I say, then turn to Yukine. "Do you think you could find some videos from the old Theater Club performances for Nagisa-chan to watch? Maybe it could inspire her, or something..."

Yukine nods. "I'd love to!" She turns and walks out of the room, leaving me with Tomoyo.

"Anything I can do?" Tomoyo asks.

"Hmm...As the Student Council President, do you think you could keep Nagisa-chan updated on what's going around the school? Help her seem like she's still at school?" I ask, and Tomoyo nods. I turn to Kotomi, Ryou, Kyou and Youhei.

"As for us, let's take turns writing notes for Nagisa-chan in every subject. Let's see, Kotomi-chan, could you take care of English? Ryou-chan, how about you do math. And Kyou-chan..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You really can be pretty feisty." Youhei comments as we walk home together.

"I-Is that bad thing?" I say, looking down at the sidewalk.

"No. You're pretty adorable when you're feisty. You're adorable whenever, really. It's kind of inspiring to watch you. It's hard to get you depressed, isn't it?" Youhei says, looking at me, and my eyes widen.

"..." I stop walking.

"Rin-chan?" Youhei asks, turning back to me.

I shake my head and smile. "Sorry, sorry! It's nothing!" I say, biting my lip. That's not true...I'm not inspiring at all...I could break any moment...But I have to keep smiling, so everyone else can smile, too. Even then, these last few months, I've still cried...

"Oh wait, that reminds me, there's something else I wanted to ask you about..." I murmur.

"What is it?" He asks, squeezing my hand.

I look away. "So...after graduation...remember, a while ago, when Okazaki said you would...after you graduate, you would-"

"Hey! You two!" A voice shouts. We both whirl around to see Kyou charging towards us. "Have you guys seen Botan?"

"Botan?" Youhei and I repeat in unison.

"You mean your pet?" I ask Kyou and she sighs and nods.

"Apparently these first-years were playing with her and she ran off." Kyou explains. "I was wondering if she ran by you." Suddenly, Botan dashes by us and jumps into Kyou's arms.

"Oh. Well, I found her! Thanks, guys." And with that, Kyou walks away.

"...That was weird." I say, and turn back to Youhei.

"What were you saying, Rin-chan?" Youhei asks.

"Ah, never mind." I reply, smiling. "I'll tell you later.

Youhei blinks and shrugs.

_I don't want to be apart from you...No, I can't be apart from you._

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ryou-chan..." I murmur.

"Hm? What is it, Rin-chan?" Ryou asks, turning towards me.

"Can we go to Yukine-chan's room? I need to talk about something there and I need you guys' advice." I say.

"Advice?" Ryou blinks, then smiles. "Okay."

The two of us walk to the resource room, where Yukine is, heating up some tea.

"Oh, Kimura-san, Fujibayashi-san, how can I help you?" Yukine asks, handing us each a cup.

I sigh and sit down, biting my lip. "I-I need advice on something...So...we'll be graduating soon, right?" I say, and Ryou and Yukine nod. "W-Well, You-chan...You-chan's probably going to go back to his hometown to live with his family."

Ryou's eyes widen and Yukine sits down across in front of me.

"I see..." Yukine says. "And what were you planning on doing after graduation?"

"Well, I always figured I'd go with whatever happens, without a solid plan in mind. I figured with You-chan by my side, we could do anything together...but...I'd feel horrible if he stayed here just because of me...I was thinking maybe I should go with him, but I'd just end up being a bother..." I continue, biting my lip.

"Have you two talked about this together yet?" Yukine asks.

I shake my head. "I tried to talk to him yesterday, but we got interrupted and I ended up chickening out. I'm...kind of afraid to find out what his answer might be...He might just leave me behind, here. I mean, I know I'm being selfish for wanting to always, always be with him...I just can't imagine having a future without him by my side. I want us to always be together."

Yukine nods. "I see what you mean. But, I don't think wanting to always be with the one you love is selfish. I think you should tell him how you're feeling. Who knows, Sunohara-san might feel the same way as you. You won't know until you find out, and I think keeping it inside will only make things worse."

I blink, then smile. "That's true...thank you, Yukine-chan. Oh yeah, there was something else I wanted to talk about...Ryou-chan, you've met my parents before...But I haven't told you about them yet, Yukine-chan...You see..." I explain the whole situation with my family, and what will be happening this Friday. "I'm worried...that if You-chan meets my parents...he won't want to date me anymore."

"Ah...Kazuto Nii-san and my parents never got along, so I understand what you're worried about. But, your mother was the one who called Sunohara-san, right?" Yukine asks, and I nod. "I think she could be trying to start getting involved in your life more."

My eyes widen. "That can't be true! My mother's been out of my life for years now! When I was suffering with depression, she wasn't there! When I came to this high school, she wasn't there! She wasn't even there when I was sick for a week!" I shout, then blush. "I-I'm sorry..."

"It can be hard to try to reinforce the bonds between family members after a long time. And once you're used to something, it's hard to just randomly go back to something else, right? Perhaps your mother's trying to start here." Yukine replies.

With that, I say thank you to Yukine and leave with Ryou.

"Ryou-chan..." I murmur. "What should I do?! Yukine-chan said my mother could be trying to talk to me again, but still...something could go terribly wrong, and everything could fall apart...You-chan won't like me anymore. "And even if everything goes okay then, he still might leave me after graduation..." I start to tear up. "I'm _terrified._"

Ryou's eyes widen and she hugs me tightly. "I'm sure everything will go fine with your parents, Rin-chan. It really sounds like your mother's trying to get involved in your life again. And I'm sure Sunohara-kun won't care what your family is like. And as for graduation...did he say he was definitely going to leave?"

I blink and shake my head. "N-No, but when Okazaki-kun brought it up a while ago, he didn't deny it..."

"I'm sure Sunohara-kun doesn't plan to leave you anytime soon. In fact, he may be worrying about this whole thing just as much as you are, maybe even more..." Ryou says, smiling. "To tell you the truth, I've never seen a couple like you two. You guys tease each other constantly, but I've never met two people who love each other as much as you and Sunohara-kun. I don't think you two will ever part from each other."

My eyes widen, and my face heats up. "R-R-Really? I-Is that true?"

Ryou laughs. "Have you ever seen the way Sunohara-kun looks at you when you aren't looking? Well, no, you can't have, but I've never seen someone look at another person that affectionately."

I blush harder. "Y-You-chan? You-chan does?" I stammer. Ryou nods.

"So you really don't have anything to worry about." Ryou says. "Everything will be fine."

"R-Right!" I say, my lips forming a smile. "Thank you, Ryou-chan!" I give her a quick hug, then dash back to our classroom.

"You-chan!" I blurt out, slamming the door open. Every student in the classroom turns to stare at me, and I turn bright red. I dash over to where Youhei's sitting, and pull up a chair so I'm sitting in front of him.

"Whoa...you look a lot more cheerful then you have been these past couple of days." Youhei says, raising his eyebrows. "Did something happen?"

"Yes!" I reply. "You~~"

Youhei blushes. "I-I didn't do anything special..."

"Kyaaa~I'm just happy we're together!" My smile falters as I say that, then I shake my head. "You-chan...There's something I really want to talk with you about! So let's talk about it after you come over to my house, okay?" I take his hands, putting on a determined face.

"Right!" Youhei says, still blushing and I'm about to kiss his forehead when the teacher comes in.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Nagisa's house should be right around here, right?" Kyou asks as we navigate the streets. It's been a while since I've been to Nagisa's, and Okazaki's the only one who completely knows the route her house, but we insisted he went on ahead, leaving me to be the one who leads.

"Um...wait...It was the other corner! We should have went left instead of right!" I say, and Kyou lets out an exasperated sigh.

"I thought you said you knew!" Kyou says.

"I-I do, but it's been a while since I've been to her house." I reply, and Youhei puts a hand on my shoulder.

"She's trying her best. You were here a few weeks ago, after the baseball match, so shouldn't you know which way to go, too?" Youhei asks.

"Right, right. Let's get going then." Kyou says, and I look up at Youhei.

"Th-thank you..." I murmur.

We walk back to the corner of the street, then go left, and see Nagisa's family's bakery in the distance.

"I knew it was this way!" I say triumphantly, and Kyou rolls her eyes whole Youhei flicks my forehead.

"Stop trying to act like a big shot." Youhei says, and I giggle.

"I learn from the best." I say, raising my eyebrows, and Youhei looks away.

"Wh-who could that possibly be?" Youhei stammers.

"Hmm, I wonder..." I laugh. We reach Nagisa's bakery, and Sanae opens the door for us as we step in.

"Thank you for coming by. Nagisa was very happy to hear you were coming." Sanae smiles.

"Th-thank you for having us." I stammer, and bow.

"Nagisa's in the back." Sanae says, and the five of us walk into the room where she is.

"Nagisa-chan!" I exclaim, then throw my arms around her, immediately pulling away. "O-Oh, sorry."

Nagisa smiles weakly, her cheeks still flushed as they were that day. "Hi, everyone. I'm sorry for troubling and worrying you all..."

I shake my head. "Nagisa-chan, this isn't a trouble at all. We're sorry you got sick in the first place..." I frown, then snap. "Tomoyo-san and Yukine-chan should be stopping by later, too, by the way. Kyou-san, bring in the presents!"

Nagisa's eyes widen as Kyou brings in the poster we made, and the bag of dango. "Here, Nagisa. Everyone worked hard on making these for you." Nagisa looks at the poster and pulls out the dango we had made, and her eyes fill with tears.

"Y-you all...made this for me?" Nagisa gasps.

"That's not all." I smile. "Kyou, play the song...hey wait a minute, where's Okazaki-kun?!" I look around and see he's nowhere to be found.

"Okazaki-kun ran out of the room once you mentioned 'presents'." Ryou explains, and I roll my eyes.

"That little...Kyou-san!" I say.

"On it!" Kyou winks, and dashes out of the room. There are shouts, yelling, and a few curse words spewed as Kyou drags Okazaki back in with a scowl on his face.

"Got him." Kyou smirks.

"Hit the song!" I shout, and she grabs her phone and the song we had recorded starts to play.

"_Dango, dango, dango, dango, dango, daikazoku..."_

Okazaki looks like he could die of embarrassment, while Youhei and I crack up at hearing our voices playing on a recording. Ryou fidgets uncomfortably, also looking a bit embarrassed, while Kotomi hums and sways a little to the music. Kyou smiles proudly as Nagisa listens with wide eyes.

"Please get better, Nagisa! We miss you!" We all say in unison at the end of the recording, and Nagisa covers her mouth as she begins to cry.

"You all...you all...you all..." Nagisa whimpers, and Okazaki runs over to her and puts an arm around her.

"We miss you lots, Nagisa-chan. And we all would like for you to get well as soon as you can. We're here for you." I say, smiling. "Oh right, the notes..." I reach into my bag and pull out the stack of notes everyone had contributed to. "We wrote these to help you keep up in class. Although, You-chan's hand-writing is horrible, so you probably won't be able to read it."

"H-Hey!" Youhei explains, and I giggle and roll my eyes.

"It's adorable nonetheless." I say, and he blushes and stays quiet.

"I'm sorry I had to get sick like this, everyone." Nagisa says softly, and I shake my head.

"That can't be helped, Nagisa-chan." I tell her, then I check a clock on the wall, my eyes widen. "Crap..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey, Rin-chan, are you okay? You've started getting all spacey again. Nope, that's not a question anymore. What's wrong?" Youhei asks.

I take a deep breath, my talk with Yukine and Ryou fresh in my mind. "My family is..._different_, to say the least...I-It's been bothering me that...once you meet them, you might not like me anymore..."

Youhei stares at me for what seems like forever, until he grabs my shoulder with one hand, then with his other, he flicks my forehead. "Are you being _serious_?" Youhei asks. "That's really stupid. Why would I stop liking you over something like _that_? You know, your family kind of makes me mad that they didn't even bother coming to check on you when you were sick..." He sighs. "I'm staying with you, no matter what."

I turn bright red. "R-Really?" I take both of his hands. "Me too! You-chan, I'm always going to stay with you!"

_Even if you go somewhere far away...is it okay if I come with you?_

My mouth opens, but I can't find the courage to say it. Instead, I smile. "Thank you, You-chan."

Side-by-side, our hands intertwined, we walk to my house. My mother's car is in the driveway, but my stepfather's isn't. My little sisters are playing in the yard.

"Yuma-chan! Naoki-chan!" I call, and they both stop playing and run towards me.

"Who's this, Onee-san? Is he the guy you always swoon over in your room?" Naoki asks, her eyes wide.

I turn bright red. "M-Maybe! You didn't have to say that!" I say, and Youhei laughs.

"He's cute! Hey, what are you doing with a person like Onee-san?" Yuma asks. I turn even redder and cover Yuma's mouth.

"S-shut up!" I say, and Yuma stares at me and bites my hand. "Owwww!" I whimper, and Youhei laughs harder.

"Say, is it okay if I marry your Onee-san?" Youhei asks, and if it's possible to turn any redder, I do.

Yuma and Naoki exchange a glance. "If you get married, that means Onee-san will leave the house, right? Then go ahead! Onee-san's pretty annoying most of the time, anyways." Yuma says decidely. "She eats all of our snacks, and 'Kyaaa'-s a lot and blabbers about you."

Rin's Face Has Achieved The Color: Beet Red.

"Y-Y-Y-Yuma-chan!" I wail, hiding my face with my hands. "You're horrible!"

"Is that true?" Youhei asks, putting his hand on my shoulder and laughing even more. "You're such a handful, Rin-chan!"

After a while, I pull my hands away and start to laugh as well, and the four of us laugh together, a sound that brightens up at my mood.

I feel like nothing could go wrong now. It's been a while since I laughed like this with my sisters...What could go wrong now?

However, my smile instantly fades as my step-father pulls into the driveway.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Dun dun dun!**

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	27. Chapter 27

**Heeeey everyone!**

**School started today so I won't be able to update as fast anymore ;-; But I'll definitely be updating at least once or twice a week!**

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Yuma and Naoki look at each other, then Youhei and I, and run inside. I tense up as Haruo steps out of the car, his dull eyes staring at the pair of us.

"So this is the boyfriend Ren had me come over for, huh?" Haruo mutters, then laughs. "I feel sorry for you, kid. Getting stuck with someone like her. She's just a pathetic wast of space."

"I'm sorry..." I murmur, lowering my head and biting my lip.

Youhei steps in front of me. "I don't appreciate you talking about Rin-chan that way." My eyes widen.

"You-chan, you don't have to-" I start, but Youhei shakes his head at me, then turns back to Haruo.

Youhei and Haruo stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, until Haruo finally frowns, shrugs, and walks inside.

"Rin-chan...that's your father?" Youhei asks, with wide eyes.

"...My step-father, Haruo." I reply, then smile. "But it's okay! Nothing to worry about!"

Youhei glares at me. "Nothing to worry about?! Your own _father _called you a 'pathetic waste of space'. That seriously pisses me off. How _dare _he talk about you like that." His fists are tightened, and he's clenching his jaw.

I shake my head and hug him tightly. "It's okay...it's just the way things are."

"Honestly...That's not okay. I might just have to sneak you into my dorm and you can live there with me~" Youhei winks, and I blush and sigh.

"As tempting as that sounds, Misae-san would find out sooner or later." I point out, and Youhei pouts.

"Geez, Rin-chan...Oh, is your mother the same...?" Youhei asks, and I shake my head.

"She just doesn't involve herself with me..." I say. "W-We better go..." Youhei takes my hand and squeezes it reassuringly, and I relax, just a little bit.

I open the door and step inside, my mother in the kitchen, my younger sisters probably in their room, and my step-father who knows where.

"Welcome." Mom says, smiling. I haven't seen her smile a genuine smile in years...what's going on? "You must be Rin's boyfriend. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extends her hand, and Youhei hesitantly shakes it. "Ren Kimura, you can call me Ren."

"Y-Youhei Sunohara." Youhei says, glancing over at me, and I shrug.

"You can have a seat." Mom says, motioning to the table, which already has a bunch of food on it.

As Youhei does as she instructs, I turn to her and whisper. "What the heck was all of that about?!"

Mom blinks. "What was what all about?"

"Don't play dumb! Last time I had someone over you didn't even greet them! Why are you acting all friendly now?" I say, regretting my harsh tone almost immediately, but don't bother apologizing.

My mom frowns. "I want to meet your boyfriend, Rin. See if he's worth my daughter."

"Since when did you care about any of that?!" My voice is raising to a shout, and I feel Youhei's eyes on me. I sigh. "...Sorry."

We glare at each other for a bit, then I sigh and sit down next to Youhei.

"Is Haruo coming?" I ask, staring out the window.

"He should be." Mom says, a look of indecision flashing over her face. If she went and got him, he would probably be pissed he bothered her, but she probably wants him to eat dinner with us.

At that moment, Haruo comes in, sitting down without a word. Yuma and Naoki follow, sitting down across from Youhei and I.

My mom notices the heavy silence around the table and claps her hands together. "Well, let's eat! Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu!" We all repeat, and we begin eating. It's as silent as it always is at dinner, but it feels awkward and uncomfortable with Youhei here. I don't want him to feel uncomfortable...

I'm about to break the silence, when Youhei says, "This is really good! I know where Rin-chan gets her cooking skills from." I blush and my mom looks a bit startled and smiles.

"Thank you. Have you started to plan your future, Sunohara-san?" Mom asks. I turn to look at him and raise my eyebrow, wondering if he'll tell him his plan to become a model.

"I don't have any solid plans just yet, but thanks to Rin-chan, I've started thinking more seriously about the future, and my plans with her." Youhei explains, and my mom looks at me, then back at Youhei, causing me to blush again. _My plans with her..._What could that mean?

"I see. That's good. A lot of the young men I meet haven't even started thinking about the future at all." My mom says.

We sit in a few more moments of awkward silence, Naoki and Yuma occasionally breaking it by poking and teasing each other, the same way Youhei and I are, most of the time. I smile, remembering all the times we've fooled around wherever, restaurants, school, etc. As if reading my thoughts, Youhei pokes my thigh, and I jump up, my knee hitting the table.

"E-Eep!" I blush as everyone turns to stare at me, and stare at the table, while I see Youhei smirking to himself.

Haruo stands up without saying a word.

"Haruo-san. Don't you have anything to say Sunohara-san?" Mom says.

Haruo turns to look at Youhei. "All I can say is, that girl's more trouble than she's worth. What from all the trouble she causes for Ren and I, and all those fake little _breakdowns_ she has, she really is-"

My mother cuts him off. "Haruo-san!" She shouts, and I abruptly stand up.

"Excuse me." I murmur and run up to my room. No, no, no! Youhei...wasn't supposed to find out how _weak _I am. How _pathetic _I am. And Haruo's right...I just cause trouble to people. No, no, no it's happening again...

_Worthless._

_Pathetic._

_I'm-_

There's a knock at the door. "Rin? Are you okay?!" Youhei asks, sounding a little panicked. I wipe away a couple of tears and open the door, staring at the ground.

"I'm sorry." I murmur. Youhei pulls me into his arms and shuts the door behind him.

"Alright. Your dad officially pisses me off. Oh yeah, he probably doesn't like me very much..." Youhei laughs nervously.

"Wh-why?" I ask.

"Well, after he said all that crap about you, er, I kind of got mad..." Youhei says.

I blush. "Y-You did?"

"Of course. No one should talk about you like that." Youhei replies. "If you don't mind me asking...what was he talking about?"

My eyes widen and I pull away. "I...I..." I stammer.

Youhei's eyes widen and he shakes his head, noticing my reaction. "Y-You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"You should probably know, since you're my boyfriend...Y-You see, around the time I was in middle school, I developed depression...That was around the time my mom started dating Haruo. We were never close in the first place, but when she was with him, she paid less attention to me and my sisters. And when I got depression, I put a wall up around my self. Around the time I went into high school, I...tried to kill myself...my mother found out about my plans before, though, and I was rushed to the hospital. I don't really remember much of what happened that night...Needless to say, I stopped bothering to try and talk with my mother after that. And while my depression isn't as bad as it was then, I still have it...It was fine for a while...but then Haruo started to come home more a few weeks ago, and make things worse...I was afraid if I told you...you wouldn't like me. Seeing how fragile I am, I don't blame you...I don't deserve a great person like you..." I'm sitting on my bed, and I pull my knees to my chest, resting my head on my knees, and stare blankly at the wall.

Youhei stays silent for a while, then slowly walks over to me, sits down and hugs me so tightly I feel like I'm being squished. But I don't say anything. Because I don't want him to let go.

"You're such an idiot, Rin-chan. Really, really stupid. You don't deserve me? I'm a freaking delinquent. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't even be going to school. Even though I'm a delinquent, you still stay by me...I think it's the other way around. I don't deserve you." Youhei looks at me, and holds me even tighter. "I'm so glad you didn't...if I hadn't met you, I can't even imagine what kind of idiot bum I'd be. I probably wouldn't even be able to graduate high school. Rin-chan, you've been doing so much for me. You protect me...I'm going to start protecting you now. I love you, Rin-chan." Youhei says.

My eyes fill with tears, and I start to cry. "D-Dang it, You-chan...I wanted to try to be stronger for you, but I'm still crying...I love you so much, You-chan..."

Youhei smiles, and my heart skips a beat, and he leans in and kisses me, and soon I'm filled with that familiar, gentle feeling, replacing my doubts, warm, warm, warm. "Works every time~" Youhei says, smirking, and I blush and look away.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" I huff, and Youhei laughs, and ruffles my hair.

"Shall we go see your parents together?" Youhei asks, extending his hand. I bite my lip, nod and take his hand. Together, with Youhei supporting me, we walk downstairs.

However, when we go downstairs, we only see my mother. Haruo isn't anywhere to be found.

"...Where's Haruo?" I ask, glancing at my mother.

"...I kicked him out after he said those things about you. Sunohara-san got pretty upset." My mom says, smiling half-way and glancing at Youhei, who blushes and looks away.

My mother walks up to me and takes my hands, and I look away awkwardly. "I realize I've done some stupid things. I don't expect you to forgive me. But I want you to know I'm sorry. Seeing you laugh and smile with Sunohara-san...I haven't been able to make you happy like that. Sunohara-san..." She turns to Youhei, who stiffens up. "Please take care of Rin." Mom bows.

"Mom..." I murmur with wide eyes.

"Yes ma'am!" Youhei says, saluting, but with a serious expression, and I force myself not to laugh. "I love Rin-chan very much, and I plan to take good care of her." I blush as he says this, and he winks at me and squeezes my hand.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Youhei asks, the night breeze ruffling his blonde hair.

I take a deep breath and look up at the sky, the stars twinkling like diamonds. We were in the park we have visited several times now. The cherry blossoms had faded away long ago, and were now replaced with dark green leaves, starting to fade to red and orange colors from the coming of autumn.

"I've been wondering for a while now...You-chan...where are you planning to go after you graduate? Okazaki-kun said you'd go and live where your parents are..." I trail off, staring down at the ground, kicking up a few leaves that had gathered.

"I've been thinking about that too. My original plan was to move back to my old town, and take you with me...But then I realized how selfish that was. I can't take you away from where you live...that's horrible. So then I thought I'd stay with you here, but maybe you wouldn't want me here...I don't know, maybe you'd want me to find a job back home..." Youhei trails off and looks away.

I stare at him with wide eyes, my mouth open. "You...idiot!" I say, flicking his forehead. "I was thinking the exact same thing. I wanted to come with you, but I thought forcing you to take me along would be selfish, but making you stay here would be selfish, too. I realized that I _can't _be apart from you. I..." I pull my knees to my chest and blush hard."I need you..." I murmur, and glance up at Youhei. His blue eyes are wide, and his cheeks are flushed pink. I smile to myself. He really is cute embarrassed...

"R-Really? I thought I was the only one...I need you too..." Youhei says, looking back at me.

"You-chan..." I look away, then look shyly back. "I...want to meet your family...do you think...I could come with you?" I bury my face into my knees.

Youhei tenses up beside me. "Y-You w-want to?!" He stammers.

I look at him, and feel my face heat up. "Of course I do! I don't want to make you stay here. I want to be with you forever, You-chan...I want to go wherever you go."

"I-I could just stay here, really." Youhei says, and I sigh.

"I want to meet your family, You-chan. Besides..." I lean back and smile. "It'd be nice to see a chance of scenery. I want to see the place where you grew up."

Youhei's eyes widen and he hugs me tightly. "Rin-chan...I loooveee yooouuu~~~"

I roll my eyes and laugh, hugging him back. "I love you too, You-chan. Lots and lots." I bury my face into him. "I just want to stay with you forever."

"I want to stay with you forever, too, Rin-chan...and a toilet seat cover." Youhei laughs and I pull away and stare at him.

"Where did that come from?!" I exclaim.

"Being serious for too long hurts my head..." Youhei says, smirking and glancing at me.

I glare at him and hit his head. "Geez! Is it that hard to stay serious for _one day_?"

"Ow! That isn't helping anything!" Youhei whimpers.

I huff and turn away. "Hmph! You really are helpless, You-chan!" But even as I say this, I can't help but smile. Being with Youhei, always puts a smile on my face.

"What are you smiling about~?" Youhei asks, poking my cheek, and I blush.

"You." I reply, and Youhei starts to blush too.

"Dang it!" I exclaim, and Youhei stares at me, still blushing.

"Wh-what?!" He asks.

"You're so adorable when you're embarrassed!" I say, and Youhei blushes even more. "I love you!"

Youhei smiles and wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly. "I love you too~Hey..." He pulls away, frowning.

"Wh-what's wrong?!" I stammer. "Did I say something bad!?"

"No, of course not! I've already been selfish...but I want to ask for something else, too...Even though you're already doing so much..." Youhei says, looking down.

"You-chan." I bend over so he's looking at me. "I happen to love when you're selfish. What is it?"

He blushes again, and squeezes my hands. "...Y-You said you wanted to stay with me forever, right?" He asks, and I blink.

"Yes...?" I reply, raising my eyebrows.

"C-Can you..." Youhei looks away. "...Promise to stay with me forever?"

My eyes widen in surprise, and my face heats up. In this moment, Youhei looks so vulnerable, so innocent, so embarrassed, it's completely unlike his normal arrogant, slightly perverted, smirking self.

"R-Rin-chan?" He stammers.

I laugh and smile. "Pinky-promise." I blush and smile, holding out my pinky.

"Laaaame." Youhei smirks, his usual swagger returning and he hooks his pinky around mine.

"I promise I'll stay you with you forever, You-chan." I say.

Youhei's eyes widen. "I-I promise to stay with you forever, too, Rin-chan!" Youhei says, and we smile at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Geez, You-chan..." I sigh. "You really are a Toilet Seat Cover aren't you?"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" Youhei demands, and I laugh again.

I shrug. "How am I supposed to know?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Good morning, Atsuko-chan, Miho-chan, Toru-kun!"

_Skip, skip, skip!_

"La la la la~" Youhei and I sing as we skip down the halls.

"Can those two seriously get any _more _cheesier?" Kyou groans as she sees the two of us. "They're going to be that really annoying couple that still acts all lovey-dovey even when they're old."

Kyou's obviously not complimenting us, but that thought makes my heart skip a beat. Will we really last that long? I glance at Youhei, and he winks and smiles at me.

We skip like this all the way to class, getting a lot of odd looks, but when I'm with Youhei I don't pay any attention to anything else except him.

"Uwaagh!" I bump into someone, as I was not paying any attention to my surroundings at all. "Geez..." I rub my head and look up to see a guy who I've never seen before. He has brown hair and bright green eyes, almost too bright.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying any attention." He says, extending his hand.

I'm about to take it when Youhei pushes him away. "Are you okay, Rin-chan?" Youhei asks, glaring at the other guy.

"Well if it isn't Youhei Sunohara." The guy smirks, raising his eyebrows.

"How do you-Takashi Watanabe?!" Youhei exclaims, frowning.

"It's been a while." The guy 'Takashi' smirks.

"Um, You-chan...?" I ask, taking Youhei's hand and standing up.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure to meet. I'm Takashi Watanabe, 3rd year, Class A." Takashi says, taking my other other hand and kissing it.

"E-Eh?" I exclaim, a bit flustered. "I-I'm Rin Kimura..."

"And she happens to be _my girlfriend._" Youhei says, pushing himself in front of me.

"Y-You-chan?" I blink, confused. "Do you know each other?"

Youhei continues to glare at Takashi. "When I was still in the soccer club here...he was on the team at another school. We got in to a lot of competitions...and his team usually won...What are you doing here?!"

"You flatter me. I transferred here during 2nd year. You didn't notice?" Takashi asks. "Oh, I heard you got in a fight with the soccer club a while ba-"

"Stop." I say, stepping in front of Youhei. I can tell this discussion is making him upset.

"Oh, Rin-chan. Protecting your boyfriend, huh? Well, I hope I'll see you around, cutie~" Takashi says, winking, and I blush. But not the way I blush when I'm around Youhei. More of an uncomfortable blush.

"Don't call me that!" I shout.

"Don't call Rin-chan that!" Youhei says at the same time. As he walks away, Kyou comes walking towards us.

"Was that Takashi guy bothering you? The Class Rep from A told me how he causes a ruckus a lot. He annoys me. Not to mention he's a total flirt." Kyou huffs, and I notice she's blushing. In which way?

"Is that your type, Kyou-san?" I giggle, and she blushes more.

"Of course not!" Kyou huffs, turning away.

I frown and watch as Takashi saunters down the hall, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Takashi Watanabe-san, huh..." I mutter. As annoying he is, he makes me curious. Who exactly is he?

"Rin-chan! You don't have any interest in the guy, right?!" Youhei exclaims, and before I have time to answer, Kyou raises her eyebrows.

"Are you getting jealous, Youhei?" Kyou asks

"N-No way!" Youhei replies, crossing his arms, then glancing over at me and looking away.

"You totally are." Kyou laughs, and Youhei blushes even more. "But with Takashi's looks...you might have a lot to compete with, Youhei." Kyou starts to blush again as she realizes what she said about Takashi.

"E-Ehhhh?!" Youhei wails.

"Kyou-san! Don't say something like that! But you are right. Takashi-san is kind of cute." I tease, looking at Youhei.

"You really think so...?" Youhei asks, starting to look depressed.

"Of course not!" I say, huffing. "No one can beat your cuteness!"

Youhei blushes. "W-Well, I obviously am very cute." I roll my eyes, and so does Kyou.

"But, he really does piss me off..." I say. "Especially seeing your reaction." I glance at Youhei.

"I don't want you getting any more involved with him." Youhei says stubbornly.

"Still jealous?!" Kyou exclaims, her eyes wide, and she laughs. But Youhei doesn't laugh. Instead, he stares at the ground.

I walk over to him and hug him. "Come on, You-chan. I'll try to avoid him if you want me to."

"Okay..." Youhei replies, and hugs me back.

_Takashi Watanabe...what is your business here?_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

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	28. Chapter 28

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"What? A Halloween festival?" I repeat with wide eyes.

"Yep. Since Halloween's coming up in a few weeks, the school's going to be doing a festival to celebrate. There'll be haunted houses, costumes, that sort of thing." Kyou replies.

"Haunted house, huh..." I repeat, then involuntarily shudder.

Youhei notices this and smirks. "What's wrong, Rin-chan? Afraid?"

I blush. "O-Of course not!"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you~" Youhei says, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"G-Geez..." I mutter, but don't argue with him this time. Okay, okay, I can be a little bit of a scaredy-cat. But Youhei doesn't need to know! "I-If anything, I'll have to protect you!"

Youhei rolls his eyes, along with Kyou.

"I think it would be fun to go to a haunted house with everyone." Kotomi says with a smile.

"I-I agree! Although I don't think I'd have much courage..." Ryou adds.

"Then let's all go to the school's Halloween Festival together! What do you think, Tomoya?" Kyou asks, turning to Okazaki, who's staring blankly out the window. "Tomoya?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sounds great..." Okazaki replies distantly.

Kyou sighs and stands up, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Tomoya. You're worrying about Nagisa, aren't you?"

Hearing her name catches Okazaki's attention, and he turns around. "N-No...well, maybe...I wanted to graduate with her by my side..."

I frown. "There's still a chance Nagisa-chan can graduate, right?" I say, crossing my arms. "Until then, we shouldn't give up on her."

Nobody says anything, and I sigh. "Why don't we...take a trip somewhere!"

Everyone stares at me. "A _trip?!_" Kyou repeats incredulously.

"We're all stressed out, with Nagisa-chan being absent, and having to study for exams. I think, before it gets too cold, we should head to the beach or something." I say.

"The beach?! It's the beginning of October." Kyou points out.

"That's why we should go _now _before it gets colder!" I insist.

Youhei blinks, then stands up. "Wait...if we go to the beach...that means...I'll get to see Rin in a bathing suit, right!?" Youhei wiggles his eyebrows at me and starts to chuckle.

I turn bright red and hit him on the head. "Pervert! Idiot! Stupid You-chan!"

"Ow! Ow! Okay, geez, geez..." He mutters, rubbing his head then smirks. "I was just trying to say you'd look _great _in a-Eek! Never mind!" Youhei wails as I threateningly hold up my fist.

"Honestly, You-chan..." I murmur, still blushing.

"I haven't been to the beach for a long time. I'd love to go with everyone." Kotomi says.

"Actually, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing...would we even have anywhere to stay?" I ask.

Kyou and Ryou look at each other. "Actually, we could-"

"You have a beach house?!" I exclaim.

"N-No, but I don't think it would be much trouble to ask father or mother to rent one..." Ryou stammers.

"Really?!" Youhei and I run over to Ryou, and she stumbles backwards.

"Y-Yes..." She replies. Kyou and Ryou aren't what you'd call rich, but their family is pretty well-off. A beach house shouldn't be a problem.

"A-Are you sure it won't be any trouble?" I ask, frowning.

"It won't be any trouble at all. I'll ask my parents when I get home. Tomoya, you'll be coming right?" Kyou asks.

"I-I should probably stay with Nagisa..." Okazaki says, and Kyou sighs exasperatedly.

"This whole trip is to take a break from worrying so much. In fact, Nagisa's probably sick of you. She might enjoy a day or two of peace and quiet." Kyou huffs.

"R-Really?" Okazaki asks, and I roll my eyes. Well, Kyou can convince people, that's for sure...

"It's settled! I'll tell you guys what the plan is tomorrow!" Kyou says, and without waiting for a reply, she skips out of the room.

"Going to the beach is one of those typical teenage things, right?" I say, sitting back down. "Although usually it's done during the summer..." I blush, wondering what it'll be like at the beach with Youhei, about to say something when an annoyingly familiar voice calls my name.

"Rin-chaaaaan!" Takashi calls, walking into the room. "So this is where the Theater Club is, huh..."

"Did you need something?" I sigh as he walks towards us.

"Yeah, did you?" Youhei says with a glare.

"I just wanted to see cute Rin-chan." Takashi replies with a wink, causing me to blush.

"D-Don't call me that! Or 'Rin-chan!" I huff. "Only You-chan can call me that!" Takashi looks over at Youhei, then shrugs.

"Well see you later, Rin-san..." Takashi winks again.

"That jerk! He really pisses me off!" I mutter, slamming my hands on the desk.

Youhei stares me, and for just a second he looks sad.

"You-chan?" I ask. "What's wrong?"

He shakes his head and pulls me into his arms. "You're starting to feel so far away...Like I'm going to lose you..." And for a second, just a second his voice cracks, and I think I feel him tremble, just a little bit.

"Y-You-chan?!" I gasp. I must have imagined it, because he pulls away with a smile.

"Sorry, I was just being weird. Do you want to go anywhere today?" Youhei asks.

I frown and stare at Youhei for a little, but his smile stays the same. "W-Well, there's a new crepe place I wanted to try..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Is this really a good idea?" Kyou sighs, looking at Okazaki and Youhei as we sit on the train.

I blink. "Well, I'll be keeping tabs on You-chan to make sure he doesn't try anything weird." I say. "And Okazaki-kun doesn't seem like that type."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Youhei gasps, looking at me, and I giggle.

"Nothing~" I reply, and Youhei yawns. "Getting sleepy?"

He puffs and blows a piece of hair hanging on his forehead up. "O-Of course not!" Youhei yawns again. I laugh.

"I feel like we've had this conversation before..." I smile, then blush. "Y-You can use my lap if you want...o-only to get even!"

Youhei raises his eyebrows and laughs. "Really~? Well then, don't mind if I do..." He blushes, hesitating for a second, then lays his head on my lap. I stroke his hair, getting that warm feeling, and his breath becomes steadier as he falls asleep. "You-chan, you really are such a child..." In response, Youhei starts to snore softly, and I smile to myself.

I notice that Kyou's watching the two of us. Ryou and Kotomi have also fallen asleep and are leaning on each other, while Okazaki stares out the window.

"Eh? Kyou-chan?" I ask, tilting my head.

She shakes her head and smiles. "You two...you guys are really strange, you know that, right? But, it's nice to be in a relationship with so much love..." Kyou gets a far-away look in her eyes, and I blink. First Ryou was saying something like that, and now Kyou...What's it mean?

"Rin-chan..." Youhei murmurs in his sleep, his hand grabbing mine. I feel my face heating up, and I poke his cheek.

"You-chan, are you awake?" I whisper. He responds with more snoring, so I guess that answers my question. With the setting sunlight filling the train, the orange-ish glow makes me tired, the gentle roar of the train lulling me to sleep, and before I know it, I fall asleep, curling up on the seat right next to Youhei.

"Come on, Rin. Get up." Kyou says, shaking my shoulder.

"Noo...it's warm..." I wail, still half-asleep, and I cling to whatever it is I'm holding. "Kyaaa..." I blink looking at what I was holding on to. I find myself staring at Youhei's shirt, my arms wrapped around him. "E-Eeeeep!" I squeal, jumping back. "W-w-w-w-what was I doing!?"

"Clinging to Youhei." Kyou replies.

"I knew I was irresistible~" Youhei smirks. I blush and turn away.

"I-I was asleep!" I huff.

"Then that means you want to be around me even in your sleep." Youhei points out.

"W-Well, you fell asleep first!" I wail, hitting him on the head. "Besides..." I look away. "It's your fault for being so comfy!" I look shyly back at Youhei, to see he's blushing as well.

"Come on, you two. We're going to set up for the night inside. Tomorrow's when we get to have fun." Kyou says.

"Now that you mention it, where are we going sleep?" I ask.

"Well, at first I thought all the girls would sleep together, and the guys would sleep together, but then I realized that you and Youhei probably wanted to be by each other." Kyou says, glancing at the two of us, and I feel my face heat up. "But if we let you two be together alone, you'd probably do something weird...so we're all going to sleep in the living room. There are lots of extra futons, so it should be fine."

"H-Hey! Why does everything always think we're going to be doing things like that?!" I demand, blushing bright red.

Kyou shrugs, and without replying, she walks inside.

"Geez..." I mutter, and Youhei pinches my waist. "E-Eep! What are you doing?!"

I huff and cross my arms, storming ahead.

"H-Hey, wait for me!" Youhei calls, and I roll my eyes and walk inside the house.

"Wow...this is amazing!" I gasp, looking around. It's pretty big, and there are expensive-looking furnishings laid out. "A-Are you sure this wasn't too much trouble?"

"Actually, this is one of the cheapest ones available..." Ryou says.

My eyes widen. "Holy..."

"Well, not the best I've seen, but-" Youhei starts, and I flick his forehead.

"Knock it off, You-chan." I sigh, then walk over to one of the couches and collapse on it. "I'm exhausted..."

Kyou sighs and walks over to me. "Come on, we have to help Tomoya bring the futons down. Kotomi and Ryou went into town to buy a few snacks." She says, and I groan and stand up.

"Fine, fine..." I say, and walk upstairs to bring down the futons. As I grab one for me, and one for Youhei, Youhei walks into the room.

"Why do you have two of them?" Youhei asks.

I blink. "Well, I was going to bring yours down, and mine..." I trail off as Youhei starts to smirk.

"I thought we were sleeping together." Youhei says, and I blush.

"W-Well, we'll be sleeping right next to each other..." I murmur, shuffling my feet. "There wouldn't be enough room on just one futon, would there?"

Youhei winks and walks over to me. "I don't mind having to snuggle~" I turn a darker shade of red as Youhei puts his arm around me. "Besides, I want you as close as possible, so no one can take you away..." Youhei said something like that before, too...what's gotten into him?

"You-chan..." I say softly, but just like before, he pulls away with a smile.

"Come on, everyone's waiting." Youhei says, helping me lift up the futon, and together we carry it down.

"Just one? You do realize we're going to be out here with everyone so-" Kyou starts, and I put my hand over her mouth.

"Will you stop saying stuff like that?!" I wail. A few minutes later, Ryou and Kotomi walk in with a couple of bags.

"We're back!" Kotomi says, setting the bag down on the kotatsu.

"Yay! Food!" I say, clapping like a little kid and Youhei laughs at me, and I blush and stop clapping. She and Ryou pull ramune, pocky, and a few bags of different chips out.

"Hey, Rin-chan..." Youhei says, grabbing a box of pocky and pulling out a strawberry flavored one. "Wanna play the pocky game~?"

"E-Ehhhh?!" I gasp, instantly turning bright red. He waves the pocky stick in front of my face and smirks.

"You know you waaaant toooo~" Youhei teases.

I huff and turn away. "No, I don't."

"Pwetty pweeze, Rin-chan?" Youhei asks, making puppy-dog eyes. I sigh and roll my eyes, still blushing. I turn around to look at everyone else, but Okazaki's eating the food, not paying attention, and Ryou and Kotomi are chatting, also not paying attention. Kyou's watching the two of us with her eyebrows raised.

"F-Fine..." I mutter, leaning in, and taking a bite of the stick. Youhei does the same, still smirking. I can feel Kyou's eyes watching the two of us, and just as our lips are about to touch, I pull away. "Th-this is too embarrassing!" I wail, falling back.

Kyou bursts out laughing, while Youhei pouts and sniffles. "A-Am I that undesirable, Rin-chan?" Youhei cries.

"N-No, of course not!" I blurt out, waving my hands. "I-It's just embarrassing in public..."

"In public? We're inside a beach house...Kyou's the only one watching." Youhei points out. Kyou laughs again, and rolls her eyes.

"You guys are seriously ridiculous." Kyou says. "Well, I'm going to bring down the last two futons. Tomoya, Kotomi, Ryou, can help me with them?" Kyou winks at me, and I realize she was trying to let Youhei and I be alone. I give her a grateful smile, and turn back to Youhei, who's still sniffling.

"Sheesh, You-chan..." I sigh and give him a quick kiss. "Better?"

Youhei smirks. "I could use a few more~"

I roll my eyes. "T-Tough luck, You-chan." I mutter, ruffling his hair, and he pouts again.

"Rin-chan, you're meeaaannnn~" Youhei whimpers.

"Keep that up and you're never getting a kiss from me again." I tease, and Youhei's eyes widen.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! Forgive me!" He panics, and I laugh.

"Honestly..." I sigh, leaning my head on his shoulder as Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi and Okazaki bring down two more futons.

"Okay, who's sleeping where?" Kyou asks.

"I-I'll sleep next to Onee-chan..." Ryou says.

"I want to be by Tomoya-kun and Ryou-chan." Kotomi says.

"I guess I don't really care..." Okazaki murmurs, and I know he's thinking of Nagisa...God, or whatever's out there, please let Nagisa heal and feel better soon, so she can be back with all of us...

"Hey..." Kyou says as we all get settled. "Have you all thought seriously about what's going to happen after graduation?"

I turn to look at Youhei, who's clinging to me, and I blush. We've been having this discussion a lot lately with everyone, huh...but it is going to be coming up soon.

What will it be like? My future with Youhei...will we even have one, together? Will he still be by my side that long?

"It's...just a little scary to think about..." Ryou murmurs.

"I think so too...I...don't want things to change." I say softly. Youhei's eyes lock on to mine, and once again, I feel like I could be pulled right in.

"Change might not be a bad thing, though." Kyou points out.

"But there's still the possibility that the things we have now, we might not have anymore..." I whisper. Youhei's arms tighten around me.

"I'm not ever letting you go, Rin-chan." Youhei says.

"Change..." Okazaki repeats.

"Good or bad, things will still happen. I think we should let them happen as they do." Kotomi says, and I blink.

"I...guess you have a point..." I say. "But I'm still going to make sure that my future...is something I can look forward to."

Everyone falls silent, and I realize they must have fallen asleep.

"Hey, You-chan..." I murmur.

"What is it?" Youhei asks.

"Can I..." I blush. "C-Come a little closer?" Youhei's eyes widen in the dark, and I can see the faintest of blush on his cheeks.

"Y-Yes..." He replies, and I snuggle into him, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me closer, protecting me, and I can feel the warm of his breath on the back of my neck, the warmth from his arms, the warmth of _him._ I wish I could stay like this forever...If time stopped right now, it wouldn't matter...I want to be with Youhei for the rest of my life.

Youhei's hand finds mine in the darkness, and holds it, our fingers intertwined.

My heart pounds so fast, I can hear it roaring in my ears, but after a while, I finally relax. "I...could get used to this..." I murmur, and Youhei laughs softly.

"Really? Well, I might just have to keep you~" Youhei replies, and I smile.

"I wouldn't mind that..." I reply, closing my eyes. Youhei's arm tighten around me for just a moment, and then he relaxes again. Finally, sleep overcomes me, hearing the steady sound of Youhei's breathing putting me to sleep.

When I wake up, I find myself cold, and when I realize Youhei isn't by me, I start to panic. After searching the house, eyes blurry with sleep, I finally find him standing on the balcony outside, looking out at the ocean.

"You-chan...?" I murmur, rubbing my eyes.

He jumps at the sound of my voice and whirls around. "R-Rin-chan? You're awake?!"

"I was cold, so I woke up. You shouldn't have left me~" I tease, walking over and standing next to him.

"Sorry." Youhei replies, but he has a distant look. Everyone's been looking like that lately...

Suddenly I remember what Youhei's been saying lately, about me going away. I put my hand on his shoulder. "You-chan, I promised I'll always be by your side. And I meant that. I'm staying with you."

Youhei's eyes widen. "H-How did you...?"

I sigh. "So you are thinking about that...Why?"

"Rin-chan...what do you think of Takashi Watanabe?" Youhei asks, and I blink in confusion.

"W-Watanabe-san?" I exclaim in surprise, and Youhei nods, frowning. "W-Well, he's pretty annoying, but I guess he seems like an okay guy..."

Youhei doesn't reply, and keep staring out into the distance, at the waves that beat the shore.

"You really are...jealous, huh?" I say.

"J-Jealous?! Of course not!" Youhei insists, and I roll my eyes.

"Well, you have no reason to be jealous." I say, then blush and look at him shyly. "I chose you to be the one I spend my life with."

Youhei starts to blush too, and I smile and look up.

"Whoa...the stars look a lot brighter here..." I say. "You-chan...I think this world is beautiful. I'm so glad I get to be with you like this. I'm happy I'm still here. I love you...I need you."

Youhei throws his arms around me in a tight hug. "Thank you..." He whispers, and I lean into him, still looking up at the stars. Yes, I am happy that I'm still here. I'm glad I get to experience a love like this...

_But what if it goes away?_

No...I won't allow that to happen...Youhei and I will always be together, right?

Right?

"Rin-chan?" Youhei asks, and I realize I have a few tears gliding down my cheeks.

"I...Don't want you to ever go away, either, You-chan." I murmur.

Youhei presses his lips to my forehead. "I'm never going anywhere. Ever."

"G-Good..." I say, rubbing my eyes. "You Toilet Seat Cover..."

"You're _still _doing that?!" Youhei gasps, and I wink.

"Come on, it's a little cold...Let's go back in. We still have some time to sleep..." I say, ignoring his question.

Yes, I have faith...we'll always support each other, and be by each other.

_Poke._

"What, You-chan?" I groan as he pokes me after I was just about to fall asleep again.

"I-I can't sleep..." He whimpers, and I roll my eyes.

"Honestly, You-chan...you shouldn't have woken up, then!" I huff, then my voice softens. "Wh-what should I do?"

Youhei shrugs, and I facepalm.

"How about a kiss?" Youhei says, raising his eyebrows, and I stare at him.

"How will that help you fall asleep!?" I exclaim.

"I don't know." Youhei replies, and I facepalm again. "But I think it would be nice~"

I blush. "F-Fine..." I kiss his forehead. "Here." His nose. "Here." And his cheeks. "Here." And his chin. "And..." I cup his face and kiss him. "Here."

"Ahh...ahaha..." Youhei swoons, falling back and giggling like a schoolgirl. I feel my face completely heating up when I realize what I just did.

"E-Eep! Y-You-chan!?" I gasp, waving my hand in front of his face.

"Haha...aahhh~Rin-chaaaan~" Youhei says, and I can almost _see _the pink little hearts floating around him.

I laugh and curl up next to him. "Good night, You-chan."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Poke._

_Poke, Poke._

_Poke, Poke, Poke._

_Poke._

"Whaaaaat?" I groan, smacking away whatever's hitting me.

"Ow! Rin-chan, wake uuup!" Youhei wails.

I blink open my eyes to find...Youhei...without a shirt?!

"Kyaaaa! You-chan, w-w-w-w-what are you doing?!" I stammer with wide eyes.

"Eh?" He glances down."Oh, like what you see~?"

"Eeeeep!" I cover my eyes.

"Youhei, stop teasing Rin. We're going to the beach." Kyou explains.

"Oh..." I say, rubbing my eyes. "That surprised me. How long have you guys been awake?"

"A couple hours." Kyou replies. "But Youhei insisted you get some sleep."

"Th-thank you..." I murmur to Youhei, who winks.

"Come on. Everyone else is already there." Youhei says, and I yawn.

"Okaaay..." I murmur, stretching and grab my bag and go into the bathroom to change and get ready.

I tie my hair back and look at myself in the mirror, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. M-Maybe I shouldn't go...Maybe I should just wait inside for everyone to come back.

"Rin-chan? You okay?" Youhei asks, and I realize I've been zoning out for a while.

"Y-Yes!" I reply, stepping out of the bathroom. Youhei's eyes widen, and soon a smirk plays on his lips.

"Heh, I knew you had a nice body~" Youhei grins, and I turn bright red.

"D-Don't stare, you pervert!" I wail, covering my chest with one arm and hitting him non-stop in the head with my other fist. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Geez, I'm sorry!" Youhei says, and I stop, and glare at him.

"Let's go." I huff, and storm out the door.

"Eh? What's wrong, Rin? Did Youhei say something weird again?" Kyou asks as I stomp outside.

"N-Never mind that! Let's go! Everyone's waiting!" I say. Kyou turns to Youhei and shrugs, and the three of us walk together to the beach.

"Oh, if it isn't Rin-chan, Kyou-chan, and Sunohara-kun." Kotomi greets as we walk down the sand towards where the three of them had set up.

"Yo, Kotomi-chan, Ryou-chan, Okazaki-kun!" I wave.

"Took you guys long enough." Okazaki comments.

"G-Geez, it's kind of cold..." I mutter. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..."

Kyou sighs exasperatedly. "That's what I've been saying this whole time!"

"Still, we're at the beach! We should enjoy it while we're here!" I insist, and Kyou rolls her eyes.

"Well, I'm staying here until it warms up a little bit more..." Kyou says, sitting down on a towel.

"M-Me too..." Ryou murmurs.

"Hmm, I wonder if I'll find any starfish..." I say out loud, then blink. "Why did I just think of a starfish?"

"I think I'll make a sand castle." Kotomi says, kneeling down beside a path of wet sand and starting to mold it together. Okazaki sighs.

"I guess I'll wait with Kyou and Fujibayashi." Okazaki says, sitting down next to the two of them.

"Well, Rin, it'll just be the two of us...You know what that means!" Youhei says, and before I have a chance to respond, he picks me up bridal style and...tosses me into the water?!

"KYAAAA!" I scream as I splash into the water, then submerge. "Wh-what the heck was that for?! I'm freezing!"

Youhei laughs and cannonballs right next to me, splashing more water on me. "Yeesh, it is cold..." He mutters, and I glare at him.

"Payback..." I grin and scoop up some water, splashing it on to him.

"Eek!" Youhei gasps, then smirks. "It's on!"

"Nooo!" I squeal as I get showered by a huge wave of water. "Y-You-chan..." I sniffle.

"S-Sorry, Rin-chan! Are you okay?" Youhei asks, wading over to me.

"Fooled you!" I laugh, and slam my hands down into the water, creating a huge wave that completely drenches Youhei. "Mwahahaha!"

"Dang it! No fair!" Youhei huffs, and I smile victoriously, until Youhei suddenly dives down into the water, and before I know it, I'm on his shoulders.

"H-Hey! Let me go! Let me go!" I wail.

"Let you go?" Youhei repeats.

"_Yes!_" I shout, crossing my arms.

"Okay." Youhei raises his eyebrows and lets go of my legs.

"Eeeeep!" I call out as I fall back, submerged once more in the water. "N-Not like that!" I say, spitting out some water. Youhei bursts out laughing and holds his sides.

"You look so ridiculous!" He laughs.

I pout and blush. "S-So do you! Actually, you look kind of good soaking wet...Wh-what did I just say?! Ignore that!"

Youhei raises his eyebrows and smirks, and swims towards me. "Oh really~? What if I don't want to ignore it~?"

"S-Stop it!" I wail, covering my eyes as I feel my face heat up even more.

"Starfish! Starfish! Starfish!" A voice shouts, and Youhei and I whirl around.

A familiar-looking girl with long slightly green-ish colored races down the beach, repeating the word 'starfish'.

"Fuko must find her starfish!" She says. Fuko...we've ran into her a couple of times before! Why does she seem even more familiar than that, though?

"What are you doing?" Okazaki asks her.

"Fuko is looking for starfish! Fuko would appreciate your help." Fuko replies with a determined look on her face.

"I'll help you Fuko-chan!" I say, rushing out of the water and away from the adorable-drenched-Youhei I mean nothing, you didn't hear anything!

"Fuko thanks you for your help!" Fuko says and kneels down, starting to dig in the sand. "Starfish, starfish, starfish..."

"Hmm..." I say, and walk down by the water's edge, peering at the piles of shells. Okazaki starts to look around too, and soon, Youhei, Kyou, and Ryou are also looking for starfish.

"Are you sure there are even starfish in this area?" I ask, wiping a little sweat off my forehead.

"Fuko could feel them near!" Fuko insists. I sigh and smile to myself, and walk a little bit more, a gentle sea breeze lifting my hair up and blowing mist in my face.

"Starfish, starfish, starfish..." I murmur to myself, then nearly fall over when I hear Youhei shout "I found one!"

I run over to him, peering at his 'starfish'. "You idiot! That's a sand dollar!" I say, hitting him on the head.

"Eh? Really?" Youhei asks, rubbing his head, and I roll my eyes.

"Hopeless You-chan..." I say, and turn around. "What do you think, Fuko-chan? Do you want to keep looking?"

Fuko clenches her fists. "Fuko will not stop looking until Fuko finds a starfish!"

"Here." Okazaki walks up to her and uncurls her fists, placing something in her hands.

"A...starfish? Ahhhh...ahahahaha~" Fuko gets a dreamy look on her face as she holds the starfish. "Oh! Fuko must go! Fuko has been here too long!"

With that, Fuko races off into the distance.

"Well..." I start.

"That was..." Youhei says.

"Weird." Okazaki finishes.

"I can't shake the feeling we've meet Fuko-san somewhere before..." Ryou murmurs. "Hey, where's Kotomi-chan?"

We all turn around, looking for Kotomi, to find her still working on her sandcastle.

"Eh? Kotomi-chan? How long have you been working on that?" I ask, trying to peer around her to see what progress she's made.

"It's finally...done!" Kotomi says, falling back, and my eyes widen.

She's made an impressive sculpture, one that looks like it would have taken days to make, but Kotomi managed to do it in only a few hours. "A-Amazing!"

"Really? I-It wasn't that hard..." Kotomi smiles. It's incredibly detailed too, with different patterns and a few shells to decorate it.

"What's going on over-HOLY WOW THAT'S GOOD!" Youhei gasps as he sees Kotomi's sandcastle. "I-I mean, I could _totally _build something better."

Kotomi tilts her head. "Really?"

"O-Of course!" Youhei scoffs.

"Y-You-chan, you really shouldn't start this now...last time you tried to beat someone in a sculpture contest, you cut yourself." I point out.

"We're making sandcastles! There isn't anything I can cut my hand on." Youhei says, starting to mold the sand. "There isn't anything at al-AUUUUUUGHHHH!"

"You-chan!" I gasp, kneeling down beside him and grabbing his hand. He drops a point-looking shell to reveal a deep cut in his hand, gushing blood. "You idiot! What the heck did I just say!? Crap, we need to get this cleaned up before it gets infected..." All Youhei can do is whimper in response. I shoot up, holding on to his hand, ignoring the fact that I'm getting blood on my hand, and dash to the beach house.

"Crap, crap, crap..." I mutter, ordering Youhei to hold his hand under the sink water while I dig around my luggage for some band-aids. Thankfully, I find one, and run back over to Youhei "Here..." I say, gripping his hand and turning the water up a little more, and he flinches. "Sorry, I'm so sorry, just a little more..." I hate seeing Youhei in pain like this. I _hate _it. Even if it's just a cut. I bite my lip as the water turns pink.

"Really, you need to be more careful..." I sigh.

"'Fraid I can't do that." Youhei replies with a grin, and I roll my eyes.

"Here, dry your hand with this." I demand, handing him a paper towel. He does as I say, and as he finishes, I hold his hand up and kiss it. "Please, be careful, for me, You-chan." I say, and look at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"O-Okay, I'll try..." Youhei says, looking away and blushing.

"Thank you, You-chan!" I say with a smile, and Youhei glances back at me and gets even more flustered.

"G-Geez, you're too cute for your own good..." Youhei mutters, completely flushed, and puts his hand on my head and walks away.

I tilt my head, and turn bright red. "Y-Y-You-chan?"

"Come on. Let's go back to the beach with everyone. I think Kyou said she brought along some watermelons to smash." Youhei says, without turning around. "Also...thank you..." He turns around and winks, then takes my hand with his un-injured one.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hyaaaah!" I swing the wooden bat down, expecting to feel the sensation of the watermelon to be squished. Instead, I hit sand again. I take off my blindfold to find Youhei holding on to the watermelon, trying to hold in a laugh. "You-chaaaan..." I growl and stomp towards him.

"I couldn't resist~" Youhei smirks, and I pout.

"Hmph! Well, it's your turn next." I say, and hand him the bat.

"Let me show you how it's done." Youhei says, and I tie the blindfold around him. "Ready, and..."

Just as he's about to swing it down, I grab the watermelon. "Hehehe~" I giggle as Youhei takes the blindfold off with a confused expression.

"H-Hey! Rin-chan! No fair!" Youhei wails, and I glare at him.

"You just did the exact same thing to me. It's payback." I huff.

"A-Ah, why don't we move onto something else? There's still some time left before we have to get on the train." Ryou suggests. "Here, there are some sparklers in here." She hands each of us one, and lights them.

"Haha! Mine's brighter than yours, Rin-chan!" Youhei says triumphantly, waving his in the air.

I sigh. "What exactly is that supposed to prove, You-chan?" I ask, putting one hand on my hip while using the other to wave mine in the air along with his. "Although...Mine's bigger than yours!" I say, and the bright light is considerably larger than his.

"You guys really are children..." Kyou says, rolling her eyes, while holding hers.

I trace mine in the air, writing Youhei's and my names together, then putting a heart around them. The light fades away fast, so I don't think anyone saw anything. I smile. Wait...

How does...Rin Sunohara sound? N-No, I shouldn't be thinking of something like that! I-If we did get m-married, that would still be far in the future...

_Rin Sunohara..._

I-It does sound nice, right? Looking around, I write 'Rin Sunohara' in the air with the sparkler, watching as the light fades, my heart racing.

_Can that happen, You-chan? Would it be okay if I was 'Rin Sunohara' someday?_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Really, you fell asleep on the train back, and you wouldn't let go of me _at all_. Your mom had to come and pry you off of me." Youhei insists as we walk to class.

"I doubt that." I huff, crossing my arms.

"If you don't believe me, then ask your mom! She was there! I mean, really, you can't keep your hands off of me at all!" Youhei exclaims, and I blush.

"I-I'm not asking my mom something weird like that!" I say, and Youhei's about to respond when Takashi Watanabe walks towards the two of us.

"Yo, Rin-san." Takashi says with a smile, nodding at Youhei. Youhei's arm, which is around my shoulders, tenses, and I frown.

"What do you want, Watanabe-san?" I ask.

Takashi looks at Youhei. "I want to compete for Rin-san."

My eyes widen, along with Youhei's. "Compete?!" We both repeat.

"What the hell? She's _my_ girlfriend." Youhei says, reaching for Takashi, but I grab his arm.

"W-Wait, You-chan! Don't do anything that would get you in trouble!" I say, and he glares at Takashi, but walks back over to me.

"Look, Watanabe-san. I-I'm sorry, but I'm dating You-chan. I'm in love with You-chan. And that won't ever change." I say, blushing.

"I understand that. But, I'm not about to give up on you...that's why I want to challenge Sunohara-san." Takashi says. "If he wins, I'll give up on you. If I win, then I won't. What do you say?"

"Fine by me." Youhei says with a glare. "What challenge were you thinking of?"

"You-chan! N-No, you don't have to do this!" I shout. "W-Watanabe-san, you barely even know me, so-" However, neither of them are listening to me.

"How about...soccer?" Takashi suggests with a smirk.

oOoOoOOoOoOoOoOo

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so very much for reading! **

**Please review and tell me what you thought! I'd love to hear your opinions and advice~**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter~!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Thank you so much Miss Gingerbread for your review! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! :D**

**And thank you so, so, so very much Atomic Raven for your review! Thank you so much for your continued support! Your reviews always make my day! :D And haha, so you like the ship? XD**

**Thank you to KittyKatLover9000 for your review! Haha that's happened to me before XD And I actually already have someone in mind to ship with Takashi~Read along and find out!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! :D**

Wait...soccer?! Youhei got in a fight with the soccer club...that means his memories of that sport probably aren't very good ones. Not to mention, he hasn't played it in a while...And Youhei had said himself that the team Takashi was on usually beat his team.

"H-Hey, Watanabe-san, that isn't-" I start.

"Fine." Youhei replies curtly, ignoring me.

"Gather about, say, four players for a match. We'll use the soccer field for a match after the soccer club goes home." Watanabe says, then saunters away, leaving me with wide eyes and my jaw dropped.

Youhei walks ahead, then turns around when he realized I'm not following. "You coming?" He asks.

I blink and walk to him. "Wh-what the heck? You didn't have to agree to that..."

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep Takashi from bothering you..." Youhei says, taking my hands. "And whatever it takes to protect you. Unless..." He glances at me sideways. "You actually like his company..."

"N-No, of course not! I'm just so confused...Why is he so interested in me?" I sigh. "But...I am enjoying the extra attention~" I tease, and Youhei frowns.

"Really?" He asks, and I roll my eyes.

"Come on, we'll be late." I say, and dash ahead.

"You didn't answer my question!" Youhei wails, and I laugh.

But I can't shake off my uneasiness...

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hup!" Youhei kicks the ball against the wall in the gym, and it flies an arc over his head. I sit on the bleachers, my knees curled to my chest as I watch him practice harder than ever.

The instant school ended, Youhei insisted on going over to the gym to practice soccer. We had to use the gym instead of the soccer field for obvious reasons. He said I could head on home, but I refused, and told him I was staying with him no matter what. Besides...I liked watching him.

Youhei really was an athletic genius in a way. That's right, he got recommended for Hikarizaka High because of his skill in soccer. It's no wonder he'd still be so good, even after a couple of years of not playing.

It's mesmerizing, and that is an understatement. He's enraptured me the same way he did when I watched him play basketball. His movements are so fluid, and precise too, I could just watch forever...Youhei really is amazing...

"...-chan! Rin-chan? Riiiin-chaaan!" Youehi calls, his face right in front of mine.

"E-Eep!" I gasp, and fall backwards. "Geez..."

"Sorry." Youhei laughs, grabbing my hand and pulling me back up. "You were spacing out, and you had this weird dreamy look on your face...what were you thinking about?"

_You. _"Ahahaha...oh look, a flying soccer ball?!" I shout, pointing away.

"Where?!" Youhei exclaims, and runs back to the floor, kicking more soccer balls around. I really, truly am blessed, aren't I? To find someone who's trying so hard for me...I feel like I should be doing something for him, too. But what could I do, other than cheer him on? I can't help in the match at all, since I'm an extreme klutz...Kyou, Tomoyo, and Okazaki said they'd help, so we need one more person.

I want to help him somehow. If I can't do anything big at the moment, what can I do...

_It's the little things that count, right? __Or something like that?_

"You-chan! I'll be right back! Don't injure yourself!" I call, dashing out of the gym.

I grab a towel, a cold bottle of water, and after some indecision over which flavor, a box of pocky.

"Geez...Aren't you tired at all?" I say as I walk back, watching him kick the ball repeatedly, bouncing it on his knees, and expertly kicking it to the wall. He's completely covered in sweat, and he looks like he could pass out.

"Of course not! Youhei-sama never gets tired!" Youhei smirks, but I roll my eyes and walk over to him.

"Keep talking big like that, You-chan. Anyway, let's go home for tonight." I say.

"Wha-" Youhei starts, and I glare at him.

"We're going home. You've exhausted yourself, You-chan. That's enough for today." I order, and Youhei opens his mouth, then closes it, looking defeated. "Here." I hand him the towel, and he pats himself dry, then I give him the water bottle.

"Don't wear yourself out too much okay, You-chan?" I say softly. "And let me know right away if there's anything I can do to help."

_Truly...thank you, You-chan._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Eh? Misae-san said she would help?" I ask with wide eyes.

"Yep. She said it sounded interesting, at least." Youhei replies.

"So we've got You-chan, Kyou-san, Okazaki-kun, Tomoyo-san, and Misae-san. You guys sound unbeatable!" I say. "But...are you sure this is a good idea?"

Youhei sighs and ruffles my hair. "I'll be fine, Rin-chan. I'm sure this time, I'll finally beat Takashi!" He pumps his fist in the air, and I smile half-heartedly.

"Is that so..." I murmur. I should've tried harder to stop him, right? What will happen...?

"According to Takashi, the match will be later today, at six. Make sure to come and cheer for me, okay?" Youhei says, winking.

"Yeah..." I'm hardly paying attention, though.

"Ryou-chan, have you heard of Takashi Watanabe?" I ask Ryou once we get to class.

"Watanabe-san? Hmm, I hear he gets good grades, is pretty athletic, and popular with his class. The only problem is he gets in trouble with the Student Council a lot, because he likes to mess around with the rules, but he doesn't break the." Ryou explains. "He transferred here in his second year."

Thinking back to my second year, I can remember times I had passed him in the hall, but we never once had a conversation. So what's with the sudden interest?

"Onee-chan said that she was having a soccer match against him today." Ryou says, and I nod.

"Yeah, she'll be with You-chan, Okazaki-kun, Misae-san and Tomoyo-san." I reply. "Although I'm really worried about You-chan. He has a bad history with Watanabe-san..."

Ryou smiles. "I'm sure Sunohara-san will be okay with you cheering him on."

"Y-You think so?" I blush and scratch the back of my head.

_That's right...Good luck, You-chan._

"Eep! I'm so nervous!" I wail as I walk to the soccer field with Youhei.

"Why are you nervous?! I'm the one who has to play! N-Not that I'm saying I'm nervous, or anything." Youhei says, but I can see his hands shaking.

"You-chan." I take his hands. "It really isn't too late to not do this."

"Nope. It's the perfect chance to finally beat Takashi, after all those years. I never thought I'd get the chance to that. And..." He squeezes my hands. "To protect you."

I blush bright red. "H-Hey, don't go stealing my thunder, now!" I tease.

Youhei laughs and pats my head. "It's the least I can do for you."

I sigh. "You already do more than enough for me, you know. I...feel like I can't keep up." I say, and look away.

"Same goes for you, Rin-chan. You really make me _actually _want to try hard." Youhei says, looking embarrassed. "I-I'd probably be even worse than a delinquent bum if it weren't for you. I owe you a lot. But, if you're still worried about owing me, just make sure to cheer your loudest for me, okay?" He winks and does a peace-sign.

"That's probably true. But..." I peck his cheek. "You're _my _delinquent bum. And hey, I was already planning to do that, silly!"

Youhei's about to respond when Kyou runs over.

"Youhei, the match is about to start!" She says, putting her hair back into a ponytail.

"Well, I'm off. Wish me luck!" Youhei says, giving me a thumbs-up.

Just as he turns away, I grab his arm. "B-Be careful out there...Don't get hurt! Don't pick any fights! If you get tired, stop right away! Don't push yourself too hard, or I'll give you a lecture! Don't-" Youhei rolls his eyes and bends down and kisses me.

"Got it, _Mom_. Seriously, calm down." He teases with a grin, and I turn bright red.

"F-Fine..." I mutter. "W-Wait, just one more thing..." I kiss his cheek. "Good luck, You-chan!"

Youhei's eyes widen, and he blushes, looking away, then winks at me and waves and runs to join Kyou and the others. Please, don't strain yourself Youhei...

"Are you worried about Sunohara-san?" Ryou asks, appearing behind me, and I jump, startled, then nod. "Remember what I said? I'm sure Sunohara-san will be fine with you cheering him on...It's like you two come alive together."

"I-Is that so?" I ask, my face turning a darker shade of red.

_Just make sure to cheer your loudest for me, okay?_

You got it, Youhei!

"You-chaaaan! Fight!" I shout as the match begins, standing at the very top of the bleachers. Takashi gathered a few people, probably from his class. I only know two of them.

Hikari Shida and Kyosuke Hoshino. Both are known for their athletic skills. Hikaru's on the track team and Kyosuke's on the softball team. I haven't seen Youhei perform in a real soccer match yet, I've only seen him practice. But with his athletic skills, I have no doubt he'll be a fearsome opponent against them. I'm pretty excited to watch him.

"KYOOOOOOU-SAMAAAAA!" Kyou's group of fangirls shout, holding up the same poster they had at the basketball match. I laugh to myself as she blushes in embarrassment, looking away from the group and turning back to the match.

I smirk, remembering the basketball match. Two times the charm, right? "YOUHEEEIIII-SAMAAAAA!" I yell, cupping my hands around my mouth. As I say this, a grin plays on his lips and as Kyou kicks the ball to him, he kicks it, and it flies right into the net. Everyone bursts into a cheer, while Takashi frowns, and turns to talk to the other members on his team. Youhei winks at me, and I giggle and give him a thumbs-up.

"Keep going, Youhei-sama!" I shout.

"KYOOOOUUU-SAMA!" Kyou's group screams. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

The next match starts, and it goes good, but the ball flies straight past Misae, manages to dodge even Tomoyo, who's acting as goalie, and hits the net. Takashi is pretty good...I bite my lip.

"Youhei-sama! Do your best!" I call, clasping my hands together.

Youhei and Takashi both run for the ball, but Takashi reaches it first, and he kicks it to Hikaru, who dodges Okazaki, and Misae, then kicks it to Kyosuke, who's about to make it to the net when Kyou swoops in, kicking it to Youhei, who just makes it into the net.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Whooo! Youhei-samaaaa!" I shout. "Kyou-saaan!"

Takashi slides and sneaks around everyone like some kind of snake, kicking it towards the goal when...bam! Tomoyo kicks the ball back, and you can almost see a flash of blue light as she does.

Ryou and I cheer as the ball goes flying into the other team's goal. They can do this!

"Come on, You-chan! You can do it!" I shout. _Kick, kick, pass. _Kyou kicks the ball to Youhei, who kicks it and it flies towards the net...

Only to get kicked away by Takashi before it could go in. Youhei's starting to look tired...

_Kick, kick! _The soccer ball flies over Misae's head, making it in to our net. At this rate...

While Tomoyo is definitely five times stronger than everyone here, putting her, who's never played soccer before against someone who's been playing for years...It's pretty obvious what would happen.

Takashi's team makes two more goals.

_I'm sure Sunohara-san will be fine with you cheering him on._

"You-chaaaan! Fight! Do your best! I believe in you!" I shout louder than ever.

Youhei's gaze becomes more determined and he kicks the soccer ball, and it flies straight into the net. It's not too late! Youhei truly is amazing!

"You-chaaan!" I call.

"Kyou-sama!"

"Okazaki-kun!" Ryou shouts.

"Misae-san! Tomoyo-san!"

With everyone cheering for the team, it seems to give them new vigor. We score yet another goal! We're catching up! Takashi passes the ball to Hikaru, who swerves around Okazaki, and kicks it straight towards the net...

When Youhei suddenly jumps in front of the ball at the last minute, and it slams in to his stomach, knocking him over.

"You-chan!" I gasp in horror and rush down the bleachers, and stumble, but I manage to catch myself. "Oh no, oh no, oh no..."

"Ugh..." Youhei groans, bending over.

"You-chan! You-chan!" I shout, tearing up, then whirl around to face Hikaru. "How _dare _you-"

Someone puts their hand on my shoulder, cutting me off before I go full-rage. It's Youhei.

"Rin-chan. I'm okay. Stuff like that happens in soccer. It's been a while since I took a hit like that." He smirks, wiping spit off the corner of his mouth. "Trust me, I can take a lot more, especially if it's for you.

I feel my face heat up in embarrassment. _Especially if it's for you..._"S-Still, you should be more careful."

Youhei ruffles my hair and stands up, glancing at Takashi's team. "I'm fine. Now I'm even more pumped."

"Are you okay?" Takashi asks, genuinely concerned. Youhei nods, and everyone gets back into their positions. After a few more minutes me cheering louder than ever before for Youhei, we're at a tie. There are only a couple minutes left.

"You can do it, You-chan!" I yell, and the seconds tick off the clock. Youhei swerves around Takashi, Kyosuke, and Hikaru and kicks the ball. It sails through the air, nearing the net, and the goalie raises his hands, the ball nearing his fingers...

_5,4,3,2..._

_GOAL!_

My eyes widen and I run to Youhei. "You did it! You did it! You did it, You-chan! Amazing! You're amazing!" I throw my arms around him and hug him tightly.

"Rin-chan, you're squishing me~" Youhei laughs, but he doesn't sounds like he wants me to let go. "Now then...didn't you promise me you'd kiss me if I won?"

"I-I never said anything like tha-" I stop talking as Takashi walks towards us.

"Good game." Takashi says, holding out his hand. Youhei looks at him warily, then shakes his hand.

"Y-Yeah...You'll stop bothering Rin-chan now, right?" Youhei asks, and I frown.

However, Takashi doesn't seem upset by this. Instead, he just smiles. "Yep. It was wrong of me to try to mess up a relationship of two people who are obviously head-over-heels in love with each other."

"H-Head-over-heels, huh?" I blush and glance up to see Youhei's blushing, too.

"Besides..." Takashi turns to look at Kyou, who's being swarmed by her fangroup. "I think I found the person I'm supposed to chase after."

I blink in confusion. "Y-You mean Kyou-san?!" I gasp.

"That's crazy. Kyou's so violent you'd probably end up getting kicked-" Youhei starts.

"Excuse me?" Kyou appears behind Youhei with her arms crossed.

"Eek! K-Kyou! How long have you been standing there!?" Youhei shouts, jumping up.

"I heard Rin say my name so I came over, only to hear Yoihei call me _violent._" Kyou glares at Youhei.

"A-Ah, that's-" Youhei stammers.

"Ignore You-chan's stupidity. What's more important is that Watanabe-san has something to say to you!" I blurt out.

"Hey!" Youhei says.

"I do?" Takashi asks.

"He does?" Kyou blinks. Is she blushing...? "I don't want anything to do with a trouble-maker like him." I guess I was imagining things.

"Kyou-chan! Don't be like that!" Takashi says with a smirk, and Kyou crosses her arms and turns away. I smile to myself. Wasn't it the exact same way with Youhei and I at first?

"Well he recovered fast..." I murmur.

"Better for me that way." Youhei mutters, and I raise my eyebrows.

"So you really were jealous?" I ask.

"N-No way! Okay, maybe a little..." Youhei says with a flushed face, and I laugh. "Hey, let's skip school tomorrow!" Youhei grins, and I flick his forehead.

"Don't be stupid!" I huff. Some things never change...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Say, Rin-chan..." Youhei asks. We're in his dorm room, with him playing a video game while I lay stretched out on his bed, flipping through different manga he has.

"OH MY GOD how could he?!" I wail. "Wait a minute, You-chan, why are you reading shoujo manga? Oh, and what is it?"

Youhei blushes and looks away. "Th-they're interesting, okay?!" I laugh. "And, have you ever played video games before?"

"Hmm..." I tap my chin. "Yes."

"What about a shooting game?" He asks with a mischievous grin.

"No..." I reply, raising my eyebrow.

"Then allow me, Youhei-sama, to show you the ropes." Youhei says.

"You want me to play a shooting game with you? I-I've never played, so I won't be any good..." I trail off.

"That's why I'm going to teach you." Youhei winks.

"You seem intent on getting me to play." I comment, setting the book down and walking over to him.

"E-Er, that's..." Youhei murmurs, blushing, and I tilt my head. "I want to spend more time with you, just messing around, since we've been studying most of the time you're here..."

I laugh. "You're so adorable, You-chan." After a bit of indecisiveness and nerves, I blush and sit in Youhei's lap. "You can still play a video game like this, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Youhei stammers, turning a shade of red.

"Good." I reply, leaning back against him. He tenses up at first, but eventually he relaxes and wraps his arms around me, still holding on to the game controller. "Geez...You're really comfortable, you know that, right?"

"Rin-chaaaan..." Youhei whimpers, and I turn around.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He's covering his face with his hands.

"N-Nothing, nothing!" Youhei says. "Here." He hands me a controller, and I glance at him to see he's completely red, and I smile to myself.

"So, what do I do?" I ask Youhei.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Yahoo! That was so fun! One more round?" I cheer. I really got the hang of this game! In fact, I've beat Youhei every round...Now I feel kind of bad. "Er, I could go a little easier-"

"No! I-I was just going easy on you because I didn't think you would be good. B-But now, I won't go easy on you!" Youhei says. He's said that every time we start a new game.

"Honestly, You-chan...come on, let me fix you something to eat. It's getting late." I don't give him time to argue as I dig through his piles of junk food, looking for something sustainable. "Geez, I think I need to start grocery shopping for you."

I find some rice, and seaweed, which I use to make onigiri, then prepare some takoyaki. "You-chan, You-chan, dinner for You-chan..."

"Hey, Rin-chan...?" Youhei starts.

"What is it?" I ask, setting everything on the table, then kneel down and grab my chop-sticks.

"Do you think...do you think one day, it can always be like this? One day we'll be able to live together like this?" Youhei asks, looking embarrassed, and I blush, then smile, and crawl over to him.

"Idiot. What do you think?" I flick his forehead, then take his hands. "I'm making sure we both graduate just for that reason."

"R-Really?" Youhei gasps, and I smile and press my lips against his.

"I want to always be with you..." I say, pulling away, then giggle. "...And a toilet seat cover.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Achoo!" Youhei sneezes.

"Bless you. Hey, you've been sneezing all morning. Are you sick?" I ask, frowning.

"I'm fine. Just allergies or something." Youhei replies, and I stare at him, then put my hand on his forehead.

"Oh my god! You're burning up!" I gasp. "You have a fever!"

"What? I can still go to school." Youhei insists, but as he says this, he stumbles over, and I catch him.

"No, you can't. Heh, this is weird...you're actually wanting to go to school, and I'm the one telling you to stay home." I raise my eyebrows.

"I just don't want to hold you back..." Youhei says, and I blink.

"Hold me back?" I ask. He shuffles his feet in an embarrassed way.

"You've been trying so hard for us...I want to try hard, too." Youhei says, and looks away, and I blush.

"S-So? You're still sick. And that means you need to let me take care of you." I grin. "We're going back, and you're going to get some rest." I grab his hand and start walking back to the dorm, before he can argue.

Once we get to his room, I order him to lay down while I fix him some tea.

"You're going to be late..." Youhei murmurs, and I cross my arms.

"My You-chan's health is way more important than me being _late. _Besides, don't you remember? You took care of me when I was sick. It's the least I can do for you." I say, sitting down at the edge of his bed.

"I also remember you kicking me out so I could go get an education." Youhei points out, raising his eyebrows.

"W-Well, that's-" I stammer.

"Nope, no arguing. I already told you I don't want to hold you back. Just think, you're going to school for the both of us." Youhei replies. I blink in confusion.

"You actually said something sensible!" I gasp, and Youhei makes a hurt-expression. "Fine, fine. I'll make sure to write you notes, and bring you the work you missed, too."

"You don't have to do that last one..." Youhei says, and I laugh.

"Nice try." I reply, poking his cheek, then hand him the cup of tea. "I really don't want to leave you alone..."

Youhei looks at me with a shy expression. "Y-You don't have to leave just yet...I'm kinda cold..." He murmurs, and I blush when I realize what he's implying and I lay down next to him.

"Oh, actually, you probably shouldn't be so close to me..." Youhei says, and I roll my eyes.

"You-chan. You're worth getting sick over." I murmur, causing Youhei to blush. Either he's blushing or it's his fever. As if to prove my point, I kiss him. His eyes widen, but he doesn't pull away.

"Don't blame me if you get sick." Youhei says once I pull away.

"It was worth it." I giggle. After a few more minutes of laying together, Youhei finally insists I get going or I'll miss second period. I put a cold washcloth on his forehead, tucking the blankets around him.

"Make sure you stay in bed and rest. Call me if you start feeling worse. Don't go anywhere. Make sure you drink lots of water. Don't-" I fret.

"Rin-chan. I'll be fine. Stop worrying." Youhei smiles, and I sigh and press my lips against his forehead.

"Take care. I'll be back soon!" I say with a wave, then walk out the door.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You-chan! I'm home!" I smile. _I'm home..._

There's no answer. I peek through the door, then open it. I find Youhei with all the blankets on the floor. Looks like the heat caught up with him.

I hear a soft snoring and realize he's sleeping. Youhei really is so adorable when he's sleeping...He looks so innocent, like a child...

A weird, but gentle, warm feeling fills me. I _love _Youhei. I want to take care of him._  
_

Humming quietly to myself, I set down the notes I had wrote and work I had gotten and set them down on the table. I open a window to let the fresh air in, gingerly pick up a few dirty tissues and toss them into the trash can, then take the washcloth off, run it under cold water, wring it out, then set it back on his forehead.

"You-chan..." I say softly, brushing away a lock of hair on his forehead. "Please...get better..." I close my eyes and kiss him.

"Whoa there..." Youhei smirks, his eyes open and his eyebrows raised.

"Eep! H-How long have you been awake!?" I gasp, falling off the bed.

"Long enough." He replies, and I feel my face heat up. "I knew you couldn't keep your hands off of me~"

"Th-that's not it! I-I...It's...dang it!" I wail.

"I didn't say I'm not enjoying it." Youhei smirks.

"I-Idiot!" I huff, then sigh. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. But I feel better now that you're here." Youhei replies, and I turn a deeper shade of red.

"I-Is that so..." I stammer. "A-Anyways, here, I picked up some medicine at the store, oh yeah and some things to make soup." I hand him the medicine and a cup of water. "Here." I start to make the soup when I realize Youhei's watching me.

"Wh-what is it?" I ask.

He smiles. "Nothing. You're just seriously cute."

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" I stammer. "Geez...just so you know, I'm a horrible cook, so it probably won't taste good..."

"I'm sure anything you make will be amazing." He replies, and I almost completely drop the spoon in the bowl.

"W-W-Will you stop with the weird compliments!?" I wail, completely flustered.

"But it's fun to embarrass you! Not to mention you're cute when you blush."

"N-No way!" I say, turning the shade of a tomato, and shove the bowl in front of him. "Here, it's ready!"

I watch with wide eyes as he eats a spoonful.

"It's..." Youhei starts with a frown, and my heart sinks. "Delicious!"

"R-Really?!" I exclaim, and my heart soars back up as he eats more of it. "I'm so glad..."

"Hey, you wanna keep cooking for me?" Youhei asks.

"Maybe." I reply, and Youhei's eyes widen.

"Seriously!? Then I'll have a pork cutlet bowl-"

I flick his forehead. "I'm making food for you because you're sick, and even more helpless than usual."

"Fine meanie...and wait, even more helpless than usual?!" Youhei repeats, and I laugh. After he finishes the soup, I take his temperature.

"Oh, thank goodness! Your temperature went down! You're only 99 degrees now, just a little lower...I hope you can get better before the Halloween Festival." I say.

Youhei smiles. "There's no way I'm missing the chance to see you wear a cute costume~" He wiggles his eyebrows.

"H-Hey! I'm _not _wearing anything like that!" I huff, crossing my arms.

"You're no fun." Youhei says, then pats the bed. "Come here, I'm lonely~"

I sigh, then lay down next to him, and the moment I do, he wraps his arms around me, burying his face in to me. "E-Eh? You-chan!?" I stammer, turning bright red.

"You're really warm..." He murmurs.

"Y-You should talk! You're the one with the fever! Of course you're hot." I say, then Youhei looks up at me and raises his eyebrows.

"In which way?" He asks, and I blush.

"B-Both..." I stammer. "Wait, what?!" Youhei bursts out laughing, causing me to become even _more _embarrassed then I already am.

"Seriously though, you're warm, can I stay like this?"

"O-Of course, if you want to..." I say shyly. Youhei snuggles up to me, and I blush harder, wrapping my arms around him. Here it is again, his innocent, completely opposite of his normal self side he's only shown to me a couple of times before...I want to protect him.

"R-Rin-chan, you're squishing me." Youhei gasps, and I realize that I'm squeezing him.

This person is the one I'm going to protect. I love this person. I want to spend forever with him. "...My life is yours, You-chan..._I'm _all yours." I murmur. I don't know exactly where these words are coming from, but they're true.

"Eh? Where did that come from?!" Youhei exclaims, blushing, and I stare at him.

"Please take care of me." I say, bowing my head. "I'm yours." After a few seconds of silence, there's a slight shuffling as Youhei sits up, puts his hands on his thighs, and bows his head.

"A-And I am yours. Please take care of me." Youhei says, and suddenly he sneezes.

I cover my mouth to hold in my laughter, but before I know it, I completely burst out laughing, and so does Youhei.

"Wh-what the heck?! That was like some cheesy anime scene! And you totally ruined it!" I laugh, tears coming out of my eyes.

"You were the one who started saying that stuff! And excuse me for being sick!" Youhei retorts, holding his sides in laughter.

"I-I just wanted to say it...I'm bad with words, okay?!" I huff, turning bright red.

"...Did you really mean that, though?" He asks, and I blink and stare at the ground.

"Y-Yeah, I did..." I reply. "Sorry for getting all weird on you."

"Don't apologize. You're cute when you're weird." Youhei replies, flicking my forehead, then he starts to cough, and I frown, then get an idea.

"Don't they say you can get rid of sickness by passing it on to someone else?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. Youhei's eyes widen as he realizes what I'm implying.

"B-But you, already were sick this year...And you're probably already going to sick since you've been spending so much time with me..." He stammers, and I roll my eyes and push him back against the bed, then lean down, and he closes his eyes...

I kiss his forehead, sit up, and giggle. "I tricked you~"

Youhei frowns, realizes I'm not going to kiss him, well, at least not on the lips, and sits up. "You're not going to kiss your cute, widdle, sick You-chan?" He whimpers and gives me puppy-dog eyes, and I blush.

"...Dang it." I mutter, and lean in, our lips touching when Youhei abruptly jumps back, and sneezes loudly.

"Alright, no kisses." I sigh as his nose starts to drip, and I hand him a tissue.

"What? No faaaaair!" Youhei whines, and I pat his head.

"Maybe when you're less snotty." I smirk, and Youhei sniffles and lays back down.

"I promise you'll get a kiss once your nose stops running." I say with a wink, and Youhei perks up. I laugh, then put my hand on his forehead. "You feel like you warmed up..." I frown, then check his temperature. "103...your temperature went back up."

"Don't worry. With cute Rin-chan taking care of me, I'm sure I'll get better soon." Youhei says, and then yawns.

Ignoring the 'cute' part, I glance at him. "You must be exhausted. Fevers take a lot out of you. Come on...I'll be your pillow, but just for today..." I say shyly, and Youhei smiles and snuggles up to me, causing me to blush bright red again. "Why are you so much sweeter when you're sick?" I tease.

"Hmph. What's that supposed to mean?" Youhei asks, and I laugh.

"You're not acting like a stubborn idiot." I reply, and he gasps.

"Ouch." Youhei pouts, and I roll my eyes.

_So is it okay if I stay with you forever?_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

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	30. Chapter 30

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"Hmm...why don't we do something, too?"

"Something?" Kyou repeats. "Can you be more specific?"

"Well, a lot of clubs will be participating in the Halloween Festival, right? I think we should do something too. Even though Nagisa-chan isn't here, that doesn't mean the Theater Club's activities have to stop." I reply, sitting on a desk and swinging my legs in the air.

"Are you thinking of performing a play?" Ryou asks as she and Kotomi pull down various boxes that had been stacked together.

"Yeah! Maybe we could perform some sort of horror play, or something like that. And we could record it so Nagisa-chan could watch it later!" I say.

"Hmm...do you have something in mind?" Kyou asks.

"Er...no...but I'm sure we can find something!" I smile, and Kyou sighs.

"Look at this!" Kotomi exclaims, and I hop of the desk to join her and Ryou.

"All these costumes!" Ryou says, opening a few boxes. They're filled to the brim with different costumes, dresses and outfits, probably used for the plays the Theater Club had performed in the past.

"Wow..." I gasp, pulling a few out. "Ohmigosh this is so pretty!" I pick up a white and turquoise silk kimono and hold it in front of me.

"Hey, that would look really good on you!" Kyou says, and I blush.

"Y-You think so?" I say. I wonder if Youhei would like me with this on...Smiling, I set it down and dig around in the box some more. "I'll have to try that on later...What's this?" I pull out a maid outfit, and laugh. "Why is something like this in here? Oh my gosh it even comes with cat ears..."

Kyou snorts. "If Youhei saw you wearing that, he'd probably go crazy."

I roll my eyes and try it on. "Kyaa~This is so cute!" I say, twirling around.

At that moment, the door to the Theater Club rooms slides open, and Youhei and Okazaki walk in.

"Yo...Uwaagh?!" Youhei gasps and does a double take when he sees me.

"Eep! You-chan!" I stumble and fall over, turning bright red. "Ow...What are you doing here?!"

"I-I'm in the Theater Club, too?! Wh-what are you wearing?!" He stammers.

"W-Wait, You-chan, are you having a nosebleed!?" I gasp, and Kyou and Okazaki burst out laughing as I hand him a tissue.

"I-I'm changing back! Get out of here!" I demand to Okazaki and Youhei, shoving them out the door.

"Was I right or what?" Kyou laughs as I change back into my school uniform.

"Geez...I wasn't even planning for him to see me wearing something like that..." I sigh, still blushing. I open the door and tell Okazaki and Youhei they can come back in, Youhei still plugging his nose with the tissue.

"Did you have to change out of that?" Youhei whines, and I glare at him and hit him on the head.

"Of course!" I huff. "W-Well, anyway, we were thinking of plays we could perform for the Halloween Festival."

"Plays? Do you mean like a horror play?" Okazaki asks, sitting down in a chair.

"Yeah, something like that." I reply, helping Kotomi and Ryou pack the boxes of costumes back up and giving the kimono a wistful look.

"Oh, I know one we could do!" Youhei says, and I blink.

"You do?! I didn't think you would." I exclaim with raised eyebrows.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean? Anyways, the play we could do is...Romeo and Juliet!" Youhei says, with a dramatic flourish. I stare at him with my jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?!" I gasp.

"Yeah. Wh-what's with you guys' reactions?" Youhei asks.

"Oh my god You-chan..." I sigh. "Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy. Not a horror!"

"What? It is?" Youhei says, and Kyou starts laughing.

"Romeo and Juliet...Father and Mother read that to me once." Kotomi says.

"What should do for a play? Does anyone have something in mind?" Ryou asks. She's met with silence.

"We don't have enough time to write a new play...what about...I got it! Why don't we go to the Reference Room, where Yukine-chan is and see if she has any old plays the school might have used?" I suggest. Before anyone can reply, I grab Youhei's hand and dash out of the room, and towards Yukine's room.

"Horror plays?" She repeats as I explain my idea.

"Right!" I say. "Do you have any?"

Yukine taps her chin and walks towards a shelf, flipping through some books, then grabs a CD and a few papers. "I think the Theater Club did this play a few years ago. Maybe you guys could do a revised version of it?"

"Thank you, Yukine-chan!" I smile. "You-chan, let's go check this out with everyone!" Once again, before he can reply I drag him back to the Theater Club room.

"That was fast." Kyou says as we come back in. "What did you guys get?"

I hold up the CD and papers. "This! The performance of the play, and I think this is the script. Let's check it out!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Well, that was..." Okazaki starts.

"...Interesting..." I finish.

"How did they even pull that off?!" Kyou exclaims.

"I think it was pretty good." Youhei says, and I roll my eyes.

"That didn't make any sense." I say. "There's no way we can redo this play."

"What should we do now?" Ryou frowns.

"Maybe we should write out own." Kotomi suggests.

"There's a week left until the Halloween Festival. We'd have to write it, and memorize it by then. I don't think that's enough time." I reply.

"Huh. Normally you'd be bouncing around telling everyone 'we can do it'!" Kyou says, raising her eyebrows at me.

"W-Well..." I trail off. "It's just...Nagisa-chan wrote the last play we did. I don't think we could compare to her writing. And it would be too awful to ask her to write it for us while she was sick. I want to people to perform something to make her smile."

"Does it have to be horror?" Kyou asks, and I blink.

"I-I guess not..." I say.

"Yeah! We could do some kind of comedy-themed Halloween play." Youhei says, and I stare at him. "What?"

"You actually had a good idea for once!" I grin, and Youhei frowns.

"Why do you always have to pick on me?!" He whines, and I laugh and ruffle his hair.

"Even then, it might take a while to write...but I think we shouldn't think too hard while we're writing this...All right! I'm pumped now! Thanks, Kyou-san, You-chan!" I say. "Let's do this!"

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Youhei finally breaks it. "So...what are we doing?"

"You-chan! Writing a play!" I huff.

"I know that! But, we haven't even written anything down yet..." He says.

"Why don't we go out somewhere to get inspired? Father and Mother always did that when they were stuck in their work...And a lot of shops around here are getting decorated for Halloween." Kotomi suggests.

Everyone looks at me, and I blush. "Wh-why are you all looking at me?"

"Well, since Nagisa got sick, you've been taking over the leader role for her." Kyou says.

"I-I'm not...I mean, I just want to keep this running while Nagisa-chan's out..." I stammer. "D-Do you guys want to go out?"

"Yeah! Going out with Rin-chan!" Youhei cheers.

"We're all going to be together so that means you guys can't be all creepy lovey-dovey and make out." Kyou says with raised eyebrows.

"E-Every time! Are we really that unreliable?!" I exclaim, my face bright red.

Youhei laughs and puts his arm around me. "We'll make sure to be extra lovey-dovey."

"W-We will?!" I stammer and look up at him.

"Yep." He winks, and pinches my waist. Kyou sighs and rolls her eyes, while Ryou and Okazaki hold in laughter.

"Geez, You-chan! Don't make these decisions without me!" I say, crossing my arms. But, I actually really like being able to act like a completely love-struck fool when I'm with Youhei. He pretty much always makes me feel like that.

"Let's go, Rin-chan!" Youhei says, grabbing my hand and skipping ahead while I smile and skip after him.

"You two really don't have any limits, do you?" Okazaki says as we skip out of school together. Youhei and I look at each other, at our interlaced hands, then at Okazaki.

"Nope~!" We reply in unison.

_Skip, skip, skip!_

We skip together in perfect rhythm, as if our hearts were in sync. Wow that just sounded really cliched...

"Hmm, hmm, hmm-UWAGH!" I gasp and stop skipping.

"What is it?!" Youhei looks at me with wide eyes.

"Th-that...!" I whimper, pointing in front of me at a dark shape with glassy red eyes. Youhei follows my gaze and then looks back at me.

"_That? _You mean that fake spider decoration?" Youhei says.

"Don't say it out loooouud~" I wail and cling to him.

"Don't be ridicu-" Kyou starts, when Youhei cuts her off.

"Of course! I shall save you from the spider decoration!" Youhei declares, puffing out his chest.

"Thank you, You-chan!" I say, and Youhei smirks.

"I could get used to this~" He says, patting my head, and I blink.

"Don't." I huff. "Come on, let's go!" I order, running past the spider, then look around. "Wow, there are lots of decorations...I never even noticed before..." I look at the different carved pumpkins, black cats, and witch brooms all over town.

"That means there'll be a lot of stores selling costumes, right? Maybe you should wear a bunny-" Youhei starts, smirking at me and I hit him on the head.

"I suggest you stop talking before I hit you again." I say with a glare.

"Owww...why are you so violent?" He wails.

"Why are you such an idiot?!" I retort, and soon we both burst out laughing.

"You two make up so quickly..." Kotomi comments with wide eyes as we skip down once more.

"Have you ever even had a serious fight?" Kyou asks. Youhei and I stop skipping and look at each other.

"A serious..." I repeat.

"Fight?" Youhei finishes.

"A fight with You-chan..." I murmur, thinking back. I guess every once in a while we have arguments, but they've never turned into something serious.

"I heard it's more common for couples to fight with each other." Kyou murmurs, and I frown. Does that mean the relationship I have with Youhei won't last? Noticing my expression, Kyou smiles. "I think the fact that you two haven't fought with each other yet means you understand each other on a close level that before you even fight about something, you manage to work it out. You both can be a bit impulsive, but due to the intimacy you have with each other, it prevents you two from fighting."

Youhei and I stare at Kyou with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Wh-when did you become so intelligent-sounding?!" Youhei exclaims, and Kyou glares daggers at him.

"If Rin weren't here, I'd punch you into next week!" She hisses, and Youhei backs down.

"I have to admit that's a little unlike you, though...Do you have someone you like Kyou-san?" I ask, tilting my head. It's been a while since she got over Okazaki, and she hasn't talked about any boy since.

"Ehh?! Of course not! I can't waste my time on something like that!" Kyou shouts, blushing.

_I think I found who I have to chase after._

"What do you think of Watanabe-san?" I smirk.

"T-Takashi?! Wh-what does he have to do with anything?!" She exclaims.

"Ah, nothing, nothing." Youhei and I exchange a knowing look.

I let out a sigh. "Ah...the crisp air of October! I'm filled with resolve now! Come on, everyone! To...the crepe shop!" I say, gripping Youhei's hand and dashing ahead.

"Pumpkin crepe?" I say with awe as I press my face against the display case of different crepe flavors. "Limited Edition for Halloween...You-chan! I want this one!"

Youhei blinks and grins. "And why are you telling me this?"

I pout and cross my arms. "As my _boyfriend, _you're supposed to buy it for me."

"Really? Where does it say that?" Youhei raises his eyebrow.

"Wh-what?! It doesn't say it anywhere! But it's the right thing to do!" I huff, and Youhei laughs.

"Fine, fine. You better treat me to something nice then~" Youhei says and buys me one.

"Keep dreaming." I reply, and take it, then peck his cheek. "Thank you, You-chan!"

Youhei blushes and looks away. "Y-You're welcome."

"Well, do you have any ideas for the play now?" Kyou asks as the two of us walk out.

"Ahahaha...n-not yet! I'm sure something will come to me!" I say, scratching the back of my head. "Where'd Okazaki-kun and Kotomi-chan go?"

"There was some kind of Halloween Parade going on, and there was a band playing. Kotomi said she wanted to hear it." Ryou explains.

"Halloween Parade? That sounds fun! Everyone, let's go! Full throttle!" I cheer.

"Does she ever run out of energy?" I hear Kyou ask as she and Ryou run after us.

"She's actually really adorable when she's tired. And a lot sweeter." Youhei says, and I glance at him.

"Same goes to you. Maybe you should be sleepy more often." I huff. "OhmigoshYou-chan'ssleepyvoiceissohot..."

"My sleepy voice is what now~?" Youhei asks.

"N-Nothing!" I blush and turn away.

"I think she called it 'hot'." Okazaki says, suddenly appearing in front of us.

"O-Okazaki-kun?! I thought you were at the parade with Kotomi-chan!?" I stammer.

"I am." He motions in front of us and I see a parade of people in bright costumes marching down the street. There's a bunch of floats, and a band like Ryou had said.

"Whoa...that's so cool!" I gasp.

"So you think my voice is hot?" Youhei chuckles.

"Sh-shut up!" I wail. "Woooow...those costumes are really cool..."

"And the music is so pretty." Kotomi sighs happily. I close my eyes. There's a haunting violin melody, which is perfect for the theme.

"_Help me..._"

"Eh?" My eyes widen, and I whirl around. "Did one of you guys say something?"

"_Help me..._"

Youhei and I lock eyes.

"Did you just hear a 'help me'?" Youhei asks me.

"So it wasn't just me." I say, and rub my chin. "Maybe it's something to do with the Halloween Parade."

"Maybe...hey, Okazaki, did you just hear a 'help me'?" Youhei asks him.

"Hey, Youhei! Stop trying to freak us out!" Kyou huffs.

"What?! I'm not trying to, someone just sai-" I grab Youhei's shoulder and shake my head before he says anything else.

"Look." I whisper and point to a faint shape appearing at the edge of the crowd.

"_Help me..._" The shape's mouth opens to form the words, barely visible. The girl starts to fall, and before I know what I'm doing, I run over and catch her before she falls. She's pale, and has light blonde hair that spills around her. She kinda reminds me of a ghost.

"Y-You-chan...do you know this girl?" I ask, with wide eyes.

"N-No, I've never seen her before." He kneels down beside me.

The girl's eyes flutter open, and she stares at us with bright blue eyes. "...Papa? Mama?" She whispers.

Youhei and I look at each other and turn bright red. "W-We're not-"

"Papa!" The girl throws herself at Youhei and clings to him, and he gives me a helpless look. "Mama!" She looks back at me and smiles, and I cover my mouth. Papa, Mama...even though we definitely aren't her parents...why does it feel so nice to hear that?

"Wait..." She frowns at Youhei. "You aren't Papa...Mama? No, you aren't Mama...where are Mama and Papa?" She asks, and sniffles, tears forming in her eyes. "Papa...Mama..."

"H-Hey! Don't cry!" Youhei panics and hugs her tightly. For a weird, weird reason this makes me just a little bit jealous.

"It's okay. We'll help you find your parents." I smile.

"Really? Thank you!" The girl says, still clinging to Youhei.

"What's your name? I'm Rin Kimura, and this is Youhei Sunohara." I say, motioning to myself and Youhei.

"I'm Yori Ito-chan!" She says, then blinks and looks at me and Youhei. "Are you two married? You have a really lovey-dovey air about you."

"M-Married?!" I exclaim, turning bright red once more. "Married...N-No, we're just dating..."

"But I do plan to marry Rin-chan once we graduate." Youhei says, winking at me, and I turn an even darker shade of red.

"Then...Youhei-Papa and Rin-Mama!" Yori says. "Can I call you that?"

"R-Rin-Mama?" My eyes sparkle. "Kyaaaa~Yori-chan! You're so cute! Of course you can! But...that makes us like a family!" I gasp and cover my cheeks with my hands. "I-Is that okay You-chan?"

Youhei blushes, starting to look embarrassed as well. "Does that mean I can call you 'Rin Sunohara' now?" He says to me.

"R-R-Rin S-S-Sunohara?!" I stammer with wide eyes. Rin Sunohara! Hearing that makes my heart flutter. I've been dreaming about the moment when I'll officially become 'Rin Sunohara'. And hearing Youhei say it...

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound weird, never mind..." Youhei says, when I realize I've been gaping and saying nothing.

"N-No, that's not it! I'd love that! I'd really, really love it..." I reply shyly.

"Really?!" Youhei exclaims.

"Of course!" I smile, and Yori laughs.

"You two really are weird!" Yori smiles.

"We get that a lot." Youhei says, and soon, we're all laughing.

"So, let's go find your parents! Where did you last see them?" I ask after I calm down.

"Last...see...them?" Yori repeats, her eyes suddenly going blank.

"Y-Yori-chan? Are you okay?" I say, waving my hand in front of her face.

"I...don't remember..." She replies, her voice soft.

"You don't remember?" Youhei says with a frown. "Then...do they have a phone number or something we can call?"

Yori blinks. "Y-Yes, it's 809-9475-84843..." She murmurs. I pull out my cellphone and dial the number, hold it up to my hear and let it ring.

_Brring...Brring...The number you dialed is no longer in service._

"Eh? No longer in service?" I huff. "Yori-chan, what was the number again?"

"809-9475-84843." Yori says, and I dial it once more.

_Brring...Brring...The number you dialed is no longer in service._

"I don't think this is the right number..." I sigh. "Are you sure this is it?" I hold it up to Yori and she nods.

"Let me try." Youhei says, setting Yori down, and pulling out his phone. After a few seconds, Youhei lets out an exasperated sigh. "What the heck...That isn't working...We'll have to look around for them. Yori-chan, what do they look like?"

Yori taps her chin. "Hmm...Mama's short and quiet, and Papa's really big and he smiles a lot..."

Youhei and I exchange a glance. That doesn't give us a lot to work on.

"Well, let's look around town, and you tell us when you see them, okay, Yori-chan?" Youhei says, picking Yori up and putting her on his shoulders, then motioning for me to come closer, and I wrap my arm around his waist.

"Mr and -san!" I call out as we swerve around the crowds. "Ito-san!"

"What are you two shouting about?" Kyou says, walking towards us with everyone else.

"We're trying to find this girl's parents." I say, motioning to Yori.

"What girl?" Kyou asks, her eyebrows raised.

"What do you mean? I'm talking about Yori-chan!" I say, and Yori looks away.

"Yori-chan! The girl on my shoulders!" Youhei shouts, and Kyou stares at us.

"Okazaki-kun! Kotomi-chan! Ryou-chan! You see her, right?!" I ask.

"Did you two have too many sweets or something?" Okazaki asks.

"There isn't anyone there..." Ryou murmurs.

"You're kidding, right?!" Youhei and I yell at the same time.

"Are you blind!?" Youhei adds.

"Youhei-Papa...Rin-Mama...only Mama and Papa can see me..." Yori says sadly, and I stare at her in confusion.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I ask her.

"We're going to start heading home. Are you two coming, or what?" Kyou says with an exasperated sigh.

"W-We'll stay here." I blurt out. With that, we all say our goodbyes, and once they're out of sight, Youhei sets Yori down.

"What the heck was that all about? Are you wearing a sign or something that says 'pretend you don't notice me'?!" Youhei demands, peering around her.

"I-I..." Yori stammers.

"You-chan, calm down." I sigh. "So what are you? A ghost or something? How come You-chan and I can see you, but the others can't?"

"...I'm not here anymore..." Yori replies cryptically, her face going devoid of emotion once more.

"Yori-chan, where do you live?" Youhei asks.

"I live in the next town over, Mizuzaka." Yori replies, clinging to Youhei's sleeve.

"Mizuzaka...? It's way too late to get on a train now." Youhei sighs.

"What should we do?" I ask.

"Hmm..." Youhei rubs his chin, then snaps. "Why don't you guys stay over at my place? Since for whatever odd reason people can't see Yori-chan, if she stayed with Rin-chan, her family would probably think she was going crazy. Since I live alone, excluding Misae checking up on me, that won't be a problem."

"M-Me too?" I gasp.

"Of course! I-I've actually wanted you to stay over more, but I guess I've been too shy to ask..." Youhei says, cutely embarrassed, and fumbles his fingers. "I-I mean, I love when you stay over and this is the perfect opportunity..." He trails off.

"I-I don't want you to get in trouble, though, for having me over..." I murmur. "We were lucky we didn't get caught before."

He sighs and ruffles my hair. "Rin-chan. Yori-chan chose us to help her. So we've got to stick together."

My eyes widen. "Whoa, You-chan, when did you get so cool-sounding?!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Youhei demands.

"I'm used to you saying stupid things all the time." I reply.

"Ow! Geez, Rin-chan..." Youhei wails, and I cross my arms.

"Hmph! Idiots will be idiots!" I huff, trying to hold in my laughter. Yori, however, bursts out laughing, and soon enough, so do I.

"Th-this isn't anything to laugh about!" Youhei cries, but soon, he starts to laugh as well.

"Sometimes I feel like You-chan really is a child, and I have to be an adult all of the time and-OH MY GOSH IS THAT TAIYAKI?!" I gasp and run over to a stand that's selling it. "You-chan! You-chaaan~! Buy this for me, pwetty pweeze!?"

Youhei laughs harder. "Who's the child now~?"

"I-I just really want some, okay?" I blush.

"Fine, fine. I'll get some for you too, okay, Yori-chan? Come with me and help pick out the flavor." Youhei says, and Yori nods and they walk over to me.

Youhei orders for me, and gets one for himself, and turns to Yori. "Okay, what flavor do you want?"

"Chocolate." Yori replies.

"Then we'll get a chocolate one, too." Youhei says, and the person running the booth tilts his head, looking a little confused.

"You talking to yourself or something? Imaginary friend?" He asks, and Youhei blinks.

"Wha-? No, of course not! Yori-chan is..." Youhei sighs. "...Right here."

"...Right. Okay. Well, here you go." The guy says, handing Youhei the taiyaki, then turns to serve the next customer, giving us an odd look.

"Yori-chan..." I murmur sadly.

"Mm! This tastes yummy! Thank you, Youhei-Papa!" Yori says. But I know she heard me. Just what is Yori...?

The three of us walk home together, Youhei giving Yori a piggy-back ride while I hold his hand, and I realize we look a lot like a family...If anyone else could see Yori.

"Hey, hey, Youhei-Papa, Rin-Mama!" Yori suddenly says.

"Hmm?" Youhei says, craning his neck to look over at her, and I turn to her.

"I think we were destined to meet!" Yori declares, and I blink in confusion.

"Destined?" I repeat.

"Yep! You see, if you take the 'Yo' out of 'Youhei' and the 'Ri' out of 'Rin' you get 'Yori'!" Yori explains, and I smile.

"Yori-chan! I guess we really are, then!" I say.

"I'm really glad I got to meet you guys before I left!" Yori says.

"'Left'?" Youhei and I repeat with wide eyes.

Yori's eyes widen along with ours. "Left...why did I just say that?" She frowns. "Mama...Papa...Are far, far away...Why am I not with them!?"

"Yori-chan. We'll help you find your Mama and Papa. I swear it." I blurt out suddenly, a new determination burning in me.

"Thank you, Rin-Mama, Youhei-Papa!" Yori says with a warm smile.

"Good, Misae's not here." Youhei says as we creep up the stairs, and go to his dorm.

"Whoa, You-chan, when did it get so messy?! I was here just yesterday..." I gasp with wide eyes.

"I, uh, got a little hungry..." Youhei says with a nervous laugh, and I sigh.

"Geez, I can't leave you alone for just a couple hours..." I start to pick up the scattered trash, when I notice something on Youhei's bed. "H-Hey, is that my jacket...?"

"Uwagh! You left it here a while ago and I kept forgetting to give it back...I keep it with me now, cause it's like I have you around..." Youhei says, bright red and looking completely embarrassed. He grabs the jacket and holds it out to me, looking away.

"R-Really?!" I stammer, and Youhei nods. It seems like most people might be creeped out by this, but I'm actually flattered. And I do something similar..."Keep it. I-I've kept your jacket all this time, too. I-I wear it when I go to sleep..." I stammer, getting just as embarrassed. "D-Do you w-want it back?"

"N-No! You can have it I-I mean..." Youhei trails off, and we're both looking at each other, looking away, over and over again, our faces bright red, in an awkward silence when Yori laughs.

"Youhei-Papa and Rin-Mama are lovey-dovey!" She says, clapping. "Lovey-dovey!"

I turn the shade of a tomato. "A-Ahaha! Hahaha!" I say with an embarrassed laugh.

"Oh, l-look at the time! We should probably start going to bed!" Youhei says, then throws me the pajamas I had worn last time I stayed the night, then throws a t-shirt at Yori. "You two go change."

As we go to change, I glance over at Yori and see how pale she is. It's almost as if she's...transparent. Wait, is she?! "Yori-chan-" I say, and step over to her.

"Huh?" She turns around and blinks, and I shake my head. I must have imagined it.

"Haah...You-chan's pajamas are so warm~" I sigh as I step out of the bathroom and Youhei blushes.

"Th-that's a good thing, right?" Youhei asks, and I giggle.

"Yes, it is!" I say. Yori comes skipping out too. Youhei's shirt falls to her knees.

"Yay! Youhei-Papa's shirt is so comfy!" Yori smiles, twirling around.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." Youhei says, picking her up and setting her down.

"Say, tell me a story!" Yori says as Youhei tucks the covers in around her.

"A story?" Youhei and I repeat in unison.

"Yes! The story of how you two fell in love!" Yori declares, and I blush again.

"The story of how we fell in love, huh..." I murmur. "I guess I had a crush on You-chan for a while, but I was too shy to even say anything about it...I figured a cute-but-annoying delinquent bad boy wouldn't hang out with someone like me." I glance over at Youhei and smile.

"I thought Rin-chan was so adorable the moment we first met~!" Youhei says, a dreamy look on his face and I roll my eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic." I tease.

"It's true!" Youhei winks. "But at the same time she wouldn't want to be with someone like me. I had even asked Okazaki to figure out if she liked someone, but he would never tell me."

"Really? I remember running into you in the hall a lot." I smile.

"Yeah, I remember that too. I think my head still hurts from all that ramming into me you did..." Youhei smirks.

"S-Sorry!" I pout. "I-It's not my fault...Well, maybe it is...Geez! Anyway, Yori-chan-" I'm cut off when I realize she's asleep, snoring softly. I brush away a piece of hair on her cheek. "You-chan...what do you think Yori-chan is?"

He blinks. "I'm not sure at all...But I think Yori-chan was on to something when she said we were destined to meet her. I think we were destined too."

I smile half-way. "Oh? I didn't think you were the type to believe in stuff like that."

"I also believe that we were destined to be together~" Youhei says, pushing me down onto the bed, and hovering over me. I roll my eyes.

"Again with the dramatic shoujo-managa-ness." I say, but what he said makes my heart flutter. Were we really? Me and Youhei's story...it isn't anywhere over yet...right? Yes, we have so much more left. But I'm willing to spend forever with him.

Youhei's expression turns soft, and he leans down, and kissing me, holding my face with one hand and interlacing our fingers with the other. Every limb in my body goes weak, when suddenly there's a giggling.

"Oooh~" Yori says, and Youhei and I spring apart from each other.

"Y-Y-Y-Yori-chan?!" Youhei gasps.

"I-I-I-I thought you were a-asleep!" I exclaim.

"Hehe! I wanted to see if you two would something like that! And I was right!" Yori laughs.

"G-Geez, Yori-chan!" I huff, crossing my arms, bright red.

"C-Come on, we have to go to bed..." Youhei says, and I can see him blush in the darkness. He lays down on one side of Yori, and I lay down on the other, each of us holding her hands while holding each other's hands as well.

"Good night, Youhei-Papa, Rin-Mama! I love you!" Yori says, and my eyes widen.

"G-Good night! Yori-chan! I love you too!" I say. "Good night, You-chan~I love you!"

"I love you, Yori-chan! And I love you, Rin-chan~!" Youhei says, squeezing my hand. Family...

Eventually, sleep overtakes me and I fall asleep, listening to Yori's snoring and Youhei's steady breathing.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I wake up, I find myself tangled up with Youhei, and I pull our arms apart, and sit up, looking around. Yori's curled up beside us.

"Mmm...Five more minutes..." Youhei murmurs, pulling me back down and clinging to me, and I blush.

"Honestly, You-chan..." I sigh and pull away once more, and Youhei whimpers as I leave, and I feel a little bad. Yawning, and stretching I look around to see it's early in the morning. I shuffle through the cabinets to look for something we can have for breakfast, but all I find is junk food. Sighing, I tie my hair back, slip some shoes on and walk downstairs, straight into Misae.

"Eh? What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Misae asks.

"I-I was, er, I was, um, making breakfast for Y-You-chan, but he doesn't have anything so I'm going out to shop..." I say. At least it's not a lie.

"Really?" She raises her eyebrow, and I can tell she's suspicious.

"Y-Yes! Oh yeah, Misae-san, have you heard of...ghosts...? In this town?" I blurt out.

Misae blinks, her eyes widening with surprise, when a flash of...recognition? Memory? Goes across her face, and she taps her chin. "Hmm...I wouldn't say necessarily a ghost, but weird things have happened to me, and I hear lots of weird rumors...So something like that possibly could happen." At that moment, the ginger cat I see around her a lot comes up, and she smiles warmly and picks it up, scratching its chin.

I wave goodbye and head to the store, grabbing a few things for breakfast.

As I head back, I think about what Misae said. _So something like that possibly could happen._

She said weird things happened to her before, huh...I wonder what that meant...

Is it possible Yori really is a ghost? No way, right...?

Although it's starting to seem even more believable...

Yori and Youhei are still asleep when I get back to the room, and I smile to myself. Youhei's clinging to a pillow, and I hear him say my name, then he snuggles into the pillow, and I turn bright red.

"Hmm..." I look at the instructions. I had decided to try to make a western-themed breakfast today and went with pancakes. I had never made anything like this, though.

"Augh! Crap, crap!" I gasp as the pancakes start to burn black. "Dang it..." I mutter, and turn the stove off. "Ugh, I messed up..."

Not all of the pancakes got burnt, but the ones that didn't look sorry enough and are weirdly formed.

"What's that smell?" Yori asks, stumbling over to me, looking half-asleep.

"E-Er, that's...Ahahaha..." I laugh nervously and stand in front of the burnt pancakes.

"Pancakes!?" Youhei suddenly exclaims and springs from the bed, grabbing one of the burnt ones.

"Wait, You-chan, don't-" I start, but I'm too late and he shoves it in his mouth. He looks a little confused, and I expect his expression to turn into one of sheer disgust. "...Eat it."

"This is..." Youhei says, his expression unreadable, and my heart sinks. "Amazing!"

My eyes widen. "S-Seriously!?"

"Yes! They look pretty bad, but they taste good!" Youhei says, eating another one. I don't know whether I should take that as a compliment.

"Th-thanks..." I stammer. "Yori-chan, do you want to try some...?"

"Pancakes...syrup! Syrup!" Yori suddenly exclaims, grabs a pancake, runs to Youhei's mini-fridge and grabs some syrup, puts the pancake down and pours the syrup over it.

"Ack! Yori-chan! The table!" Youhei gasps, and I realize she didn't grab a plate, and the syrup spills onto the table.

"Wow! These taste kinda like the ones Mama would make!" Yori says, then her face falls. "Mama..."

"Don't worry, Yori-chan! We're going to look for your Mama and Papa today!" I say, pumping my fist in the air. "So hurry up and eat cause we got a train to catch!"

After the two of them finish their breakfast, we get ready to head out, and as we're walking to the train station, I notice Yori looks even paler than yesterday. For just a second, as she steps into a particularly bright patch of sunlight, it's almost like, once more, she's transparent, and I can see right through her.

But just like before, it's only for a second, and I push it aside as my mind playing tricks on me once more.

"Mizuzaka...Let's see..." I look at the huge map on display at the train station. "It'll take about half an hour to get there." I say. "The next train is in ten minutes, and it's seven dollars per person."

"Seven dollars, huh...Man, my wallet has been taking a beating these past few days..." Youhei groans as he pays for our tickets, then hands them to us. "You better be grateful."

"I am!" Yori says.

"Me, too!" I smirk and kiss his cheek. Youhei blushes and looks away.

"C-Come on, let's go sit down while we wait for the train..." He stammers.

Finally, the train pulls up, and we get on. I lean on Youhei, resting my head on his shoulder, while Yori lays down on the seat across from us.

"Dang it...being on a train with you always makes me so tired..." I sigh and Youhei laughs, and pats his lap.

"Well, I'm waiting~" He says with a smirk, and I huff.

"N-Not now! T-The ride's only thirty minutes, geez!" I pout. I peer out the window and watch the scenery go by, the trees turning into the colors of autumn, the sky a pure blue, puffy white clouds in the distance, the sun shining down bright as ever.

This world...truly is beautiful.

It's even more so, with Youhei by my side.

As if reading my thoughts, Youhei squeezes my hand and looks out the window too. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

I smile and nod. "I'm so happy...You're here. I love you, You-chan." I tear my gaze away from the window and look at Youhei, who blushes.

"I love you, Rin-chan." Youhei says, and before I know it, we're leaning in...

"Hehehe!" Yori giggles, stopping us just before our lips are about to touch.

"Yori-chan!" I exclaim. "Again!"

"You two really are lovey-dovey! Yep, you're definitely going to get married!" Yori announces, and soon, I'm blushing along with Youhei.

"D-Definitely, huh?" I repeat and look shyly at Youhei, who puts his hand on my head.

"Good, since I plan to." He says, grinning at me.

"Waah! Rin-Mama! You'd look so pretty in one of those white dresses!" Yori says, and my eyes widen.

"I think so too." Youhei winks.

"E-Ehhh?!" I exclaim, covering my face with my hands. "N-No way..."

"We've arrived at Mizuzaka, I repeat, we've arrived at Mizuzaka, please get off now if this is your stop." A voice says over an intercom, and we all look at each other.

"Well, we're here." I say, standing up and stretching, and Youhei takes my and Yori's hands.

"Home..." Yori murmurs as we step off the train. "Home."

"Yori-chan, do you remember which way to get to your house?" I ask her, and she nods, and pulls us both ahead. After we walk for about ten minutes, we finally reach a semi old-looking house with a sign out front that says 'For Sale'.

"Home." Yori repeats.

"What...? Yori-chan, is this your home?" I ask with wide eyes.

"Yes. Home." Yori says, her expression going blank.

A person walking across the street comes over to us. "Ah, are you looking to buy this house?"

"Wha...No, w-we were just walking by." I reply.

"Oh. It's such a shame what happened to the Ito's. They were such a nice family." The person says, and I hear Youhei gasp beside me. _Were._

"Wh-what happened?" I ask.

"You don't know? A few months ago, there was a terrible car accident, and the mother, father, and their daughter, Yori Ito, were in it. None of them survived."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Dun dun dun!**

**Thank you so, so, so very much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :D**

**Please stay tuned for the next chapter~**


	31. AN

*crawls out of hole*

H-Hello, everyone! It's been a while!

Rin: A WHILE?! It's been two months!

A-Ah, yes…

Sunohara: Yeah! I want to do things with Ri-

Rin: THAT SOUNDS TOO SUSPICIOUS!

I am so sorry for the lack of updates ~ As you know, school has started for me and that causes a crap load of stress, but things are starting to calm down just a little. Plus, I didn't think anyone was really interested in my story anymore so I kind of gave up XD

I've been working on the newest chapter, so if you guys are still interested, just let me know! I'll try to update as soon as I can!

Thank you so much for staying with me!


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